Architects don’t
invent anything;
they transform
reality. Álvaro
Siza
Girum Tesfaye
Gedecho
History of
Architecture II
Álvaro Siza
[1933 – Present]
Álvaro Siza, in full Álvaro Joaquim de Melo Siza Vieira, (born June 25, 1933, Matosinhos,
Portugal), Portuguese architect and designer whose structures, ranging from swimming pools to
public housing developments, were characterized by a quiet clarity of form and function, a sensitive
integration into their environment, and a purposeful engagement with both cultural and
architectural traditions. He was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 1992.
Siza grew up in a large Roman Catholic family in Matosinhos, near Porto. As a youth, he intended
to become a sculptor, but his father’s objections and his own admiration for the work of Catalan
architect Antoni Gaudí led him in 1949 to enroll in an architecture program at the Porto Fine Arts
School (now part of the University of Porto). He soon developed a deep affinity for the discipline,
and in 1954, a year before he graduated, he opened a private architecture practice in Porto and
designed four houses in his hometown (completed 1957).
In 1955–58 Siza collaborated with Fernando Távora, a former professor of his, who instilled in him
an architectural philosophy that maintained a respect for vernacular traditions but sought their
continuity within a contemporary context. (Much of Siza’s future work drew from and extended the
principles of Modernism.) Through this association,
Siza received the opportunity to design the Boa Nova teahouse and restaurant (1963; renovated
2014), a structure on the coast at Leça da Palmeira that won acclaim for its use of diverse materials
and its subtle interaction with the rocky landscape onto which it was built. He received further
attention for another design in that town, a public swimming pool complex (1966) in an isolated
oceanside setting in which the pools’ edges were shaped both by concrete walls and by the beach’s
natural rock formations.
For much of his early career, Siza had designed small private houses, but he turned to mass public
housing in the early 1970s, especially after Portugal’s 1974 Revolution of the Carnations, which
provided him with a sociopolitical context for his work. For the government-supported organization
SAAL (Serviço de Apoio Ambulatório Local), which aimed to improve conditions in urban slums,
he built the Bouça and São Victor housing projects (both 1977) in Porto.
In 1977 Siza commenced work on the Quinta da Malagueira development in Évora, consisting of
1,200 single-family row houses constructed in phases over more than 20 years. These commissions
brought Siza international recognition, and from the late 1970s onward he increasingly worked
outside Portugal, primarily in other western European countries. Maintaining an interest in urban
development, in the 1980s he began directing a long-term renovation plan in a district of The Hague
as well as a rebuilding project in the Chiado neighborhood of Lisbon.
Other works include the Borges and Irmão Bank (1986) in Vila do Conde, Portugal, a building
marked by dynamic curves and distinct spatial fluidity that was honored with the inaugural Mies
van der Rohe Award for European Architecture (1988); and a cylindrical meteorological center
(1992) in Barcelona, created for the 1992 Olympic Games. Some of Siza’s most notable later designs
were for art museums, namely the Galician Centre of Contemporary Art (1993) in Santiago de
Compostela, Spain; the Museu Serralves (1997) in Porto; and the Iberê Camargo Museum (2008) in
Porto Alegre, Brazil.
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Restaurante da Boa Nova
Alvaro Siza completed the design of the Boa Nova Tea House in 1963. The building is located on the coast of
Porto with an orientation that leads to the sea. Then, the location of the site was on the rocks so Siza tried to
incorporate the natural concept into the material. The material used is a combination of exposed wood and
concrete columns.
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Additionally, Siza occasionally collaborated on small-scale projects with his compatriot and former
student Eduardo Souto de Moura. These projects included the wooden canopy for the 2005
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, London, and the renovation of the Municipal Museum Abade Pedrosa
and an addition to house the International Contemporary Sculpture Museum (2016), both in Santo
Tirso, Portugal.
Alvaro Siza has appealing architectural characteristics. His entire design is made by understanding
the contextual site and nature where the building is located. His works are dominated by the
concept of natural lighting, curvilinear shapes, and elegant minimalist materials. Also, the mainstay
materials he uses are stone, wood, and white concrete. The material is processed in such a great way
to make a space more alive. Here are some of the works from Alvaro Siza.
1. Expo’98 Portuguese National Pavillion
The building facade designed by Alvaro Siza is dominated by vertical elements of the columns on the right and
left side of the building.
2. International Design Museum of China
Located in Hangzhou, China, this building serves as an art school, public area, and auditorium. Siza uses
blocks of red sandstone throughout the entire facade.
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3. The Church of Saint – Jacques-de-la-Lande in Brittany
As the first church in Brittany, Siza used the basic shapes of circles and squares to combine with the concept of
natural lighting. Natural light affects the interior of the church on the altar, pulpit, and baptism.
4. Serpetine Gallery Pavillion 2005
Conceptualizing the new building, Siza creates neoclassical house-style architectural spaces that are packed in
a modern way. The building facade uses a rectangular grid structure and is surrounded by polycarbonate. On
the facade side, sunlight can enter with a unique shadow.
5. The Building on the Water
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In this building, Siza’s style of the building appears based on the form and use of materials. Siza uses a
curvilinear form that makes a poetic and natural atmosphere. Void in the middle allows the refection of
sunlight into buildings that are reflected by glass windows. Besides, Siza uses exposed white concrete to give
the impression of being light and blending with water.
6. Discoteca Mantra – Restaurant Bar and Disco
A restaurant and bar project are designed to use an old building to maintain a physical image into a modern
feel. Siza uses colored light to give the impression of emotional space. Space seems to live and have rhythm.
Also, the interior is made with a unique soundproof and circulation.
Siza continued to consider materials and form as the 21st century progressed. He added glossy tiles
to the exterior of the Paraninfo de la Universidad del País Vasco (2010), an auditorium in Bilbao,
Spain, and collaborated with architects Carlos Castanheira and Jun Sung Kim to build a curving
concrete structure for the Mimesis Museum (2010), an institution for modern art in Paju Book City,
Paju, South Korea. Siza also created a serene office for the Shihlien Chemical Industrial Jiangsu
Company (2014), using white concrete to form a hairpin-shaped building that seemingly floats on an
artificial lake in Huai’an City, China.
Siza later utilized red brick and horizontal forms to integrate a performing arts center (2015) into the
rolling landscape of Llinars del Vallès, a village outside Barcelona. White concrete again was his
choice for such buildings as the Nadir Afonso Foundation (2016), a contemporary art museum in
Chaves, Portugal; the church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande (2018), near Rennes, France; and the
Capela do Monte (2018; “Hillside Chapel”), Barão de São João, Portugal. Siza also clad buildings in
red sandstone (the International Design Museum of China [2018; with Castanheira], Hangzhou), in
travertine (two housing blocks [2020] in Gallarate, Italy), and in black corrugated metal (the
Huamao Museum of Art and Education [2020; with Castanheira], Ningbo, China).
In 1966–69 Siza taught at the University of Porto, and in 1976 he returned as a full professor. Before
his retirement in 2003, he designed several buildings for the Porto School of Architecture. Siza is the
recipient of many awards, including the Pritzker Architecture Prize (1992), the Japan Art
Association’s Praemium Imperiale prize for architecture (1998), and the Golden Lion for lifetime
achievement at the Venice Architecture Bienniale (2012).
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References
1. Alvaro Siza | Biography, Architecture, Buildings, & Facts | Britannica
2. Alvaro Siza -15 Iconic Projects - RTF | Rethinking the Future
3. "SIZA – Unseen & Unknown”. www.tchobanfoundation. de. Museum for Architectural
Drawing. 20 February 2019.
4. "SIZA – Inédito e Desconhecido”. www.sicnoticias.pt. SIC Notícias. 24 October 2020.
5. "John Wick (2014) Trivia". IMDb. IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
