 Books about Alvaro Siza
Bibliography 1. Alvaro Siza 1954-1988. 2. A+U Extra Edition Tokyo: A+U, (June 1989). 3. Angelillo, Antonio (editor), Alvaro Siza: Writings on Architecture, Milan Skira, 1997 4. Dos Santos, Jose Paolo, (editors). Alvaro Siza: Works and Projects, 1954-1992, 5. Barcelona: Gustavo
Gili, 1994 Fleck Brigitte, Alvaro Siza, Basel and Boston: Birkhauser, 1992 6. Frampton Kenneth,
Alvaro Siza: Tutte le Opere, Milan Electa, 1999 7. Jodidio Philip,
Alvaro Siza (Architecture & Design Series), Koln and London, Taschen, 1999 8. De Llano, Pedro and
Carlos Castanheira, Alvaro Siza, Madrid, Sociedad Editorial Electa Espana, 1995 9. Siza, Alvaro, Alvaro
Siza, Arquiucto: Centro de Art Contemporanea de Galicia, Galicia, Spain, Xunta
de Galicia, 1993 10. Testa Peter, The
Architecture of Alvaro Siza, Cambridge, Mass.: M.I.T., 1984 11. Testa, Peter,
Alvaro Siza, Basel and Boston, Birkhauser, 1996 12. Wang, Wilfired, et
al., Alvaro Siza, City Sketches, Basel and Boston, Birkhauser, 1994 |
Alvaro Siza “The architecture of Álvaro Siza is a joy to the senses and uplifts the spirit. Each line and curve is placed with skill and sureness,” the jury of the Pritzker Architecture Prize declared in 1992, singling out Portugal’s most celebrated architect to receive architecture’s most coveted award. During more than four decades, Álvaro Joaquim Melo Siza Vieira has earned the respect of his peers worldwide for the work that reflects the “heroic spirit of modern architecture”. Although grounded in Modernism, Siza’s architecture defies categorisation. The 69-year-old architect never uses a pre-established style, but continuously experiments with each project. “Every design is a rigorous attempt at capturing a concrete moment of a fleeting image in all its nuances,” explains Siza whose aesthetic vision was shaped by the traditions and natural resources of his native country. As a young man growing up in Matosinhos near Porto, an historic seaport in northern Portugal, the artistically gifted Siza debated whether to become a sculptor or an architect. After seeing Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi’s extraordinary work in Barcelona, he chose architecture. He completed his first project in 1954 while still a student at the University of Porto School of Architecture. The project, four houses in Matosinhos, heralded his lifelong involvement with public housing. After graduating, Siza joined the atelier of architect Fernando Távora who proved a powerful influence on his art and future working methods. Siza opened his own practice in 1958, the same year that he began one of his most famous works, the Boa Nova Tea House and Restaurant, set in the rock formations on Portugal’s north coast. In the intervening years, his internationally recognised projects included the Leça Swimming Pool, Leça de Palmeira (1961-66); the Malagueira Quarter housing project, Évora (1977-); the Borges & Irmão Bank, Vila do Conde (1978-86); the Bonjour Tristesse residential complex, Schlesisches Tor, Kreuzberg, Berlin (1980-84); the reconstruction of the Chiado district, Lisbon (1988-); the Galicia Museum of Contemporary Art, Santiago de Compostela (1988-93), the Portuguese Pavilion at Expo ’98, Lisbon (1995-98) and the Museu de Serralves, Porto (1999). Since the mid-1970s, when Portugal embraced democracy, Siza’s work has become a symbol of his country’s rebirth and progress, earning him medals and honours from organisations around the globe. In 1988 alone, he won three major awards: the Prince of Wales Prize in Urban Design; the European Award for Architecture from the European Economic Community/Mies Van der Rohe Foundation; and the Gold Medal of the Alvar Aalto Foundation. A decade later, he was awarded the Praemium Imperiale for Architecture from the Japan Art Association. Intent on sharing his theories with this fellow professionals, Siza has combined teaching with practising architecture for most of his career. Today, he serves as a professor of architecture at Porto’s School of Architecture, his alma mater, and as a visiting professor at many of the world’s leading architectural schools. The globetrotting architect is also a frequent guest lecturer at international exhibitions, seminars and conferences, and a member of architectural juries throughout Europe. For Siza, despite the advent of new materials and new techniques, the essence of architecture has not changed from previous generations. His mission is to inspire a new generation of architects while passing on this heritage: “It remains to us to attempt, to continue the construction of Beauty,” he says. Projects
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