AD Classics: Boa Nova Tea House / Alvaro Siza
The Boa Nova Tea House, one of Siza’s earliest commissions, was awarded to him in 1956. His collaborator, Fernando Tavora, had won the competition for the project and passed it onto Alvaro Siza. Its location close to Siza’s home town had its significance, especially due to the architect’s intimate familiarity with the landscape. This is noticed in his incorporation of the rock formation, the ocean, and the greenery within the project, revealing a vivid understanding of the qualities of the local landscape. Alongside the Leça Swimming Pools, this project represents the foundation of Siza’s architecture with a compelling regard for nature.
Fire Station in Santo Tirso / Alvaro Siza
Architects: Alvaro Siza
Location: Santo Tirso, Portugal
Project Coordinator: José Carlos Nunes de Oliveira
Design Team: Marco Rampulla, Pablo Elinbaum, Patrícia Teixeira, José Pedro Silva
Area: 1400.0 sqm
Year: 2013
Photographs: Joao Morgado – Architecture Photography
Álvaro Siza Pavilion Will Remain at Venice Biennale Until 2016
“Recognized by all for its efficiency,” the pavilion that Álvaro Siza designed for last year’s Venice Biennale of Architecture will remain on display and be utilized as “additional space” by the new curators in 2014 and 2016.
Venice Biennale 2012: Álvaro Siza. Viagem sem Programa
Álvaro Siza. Viagem sem Programa, on display at the Fondazione Querini Stampalia through the duration of the Venice Biennale, narrates the most personal aspects of Álvaro Siza’s work in architecture and his concept of life. In response to Siza being announced as the recipient of the 2012 Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, curators Greta Ruffino and Raul Betti, along with organizer MedicinaMentis Cultural Association, began to work closely with the Portuguese master to put together this one-of-a-kind retrospective.
The exhibition features an exclusive collection of 53 works, personally selected by the architect himself, that were developed from travel notes and sketches, along with a 38-minute video interview.
Continue after the break for more images of Álvaro Siza. Viagem sem Programa and check out our previous coverage for more information.
Venice Biennale 2012: Alvaro Siza
Alvaro Siza, winner of the 13th Venice Biennale Lifetime Achievement, created this structure in the gardens of the Arsenale, right next to another structure by Eduardo Soto de Moura that we will feature on a separate article. This follows the longtime collaboration of the two Portuguese masters.
Alvaro Siza’s structure establishes a relationship with a different aspect of Venice – that of the dense urban environment. Three faceted walls generate two intimate spaces in the middle of the garden designed for the 12th Biennale in 2012 by Piet Oudolf, a tribute to the compact urban tissue of Venice, which frames particular views of the exteriors of the Arsenale.
More photos after the break:
Venice Biennale 2012: “Álvaro Siza. Viagem sem Programa”
Recent award recipient of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement and Portuguese master architect, Álvaro Siza, will be honored with an exhibition exclusively dedicated to his most personal aspects as one of the leading players in the international design scene at the 2012 Venice Biennale. The collateral event, “Álvaro Siza. Viagem sem Programa”, will feature an exclusive collection of 53 works, personally selected by the architect himself for this event, that were developed from travel notes and sketches. The exhibit will be organized in sequential order as a narration of Siza’s work in architecture and concept of life. It will be seen as “a succession of prospects, dreams, memories and the faces of unknown persons and friends encounters in that extraordinary “Journey without a plan”, which is life itself.”
Continue after the break to learn more.
Álvaro Siza wins Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement
Álvaro Siza Vieira’s birthday week just got even better, as he has been awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement of the 13th International Architecture Exhibition. The decision was made by the Board of la Biennale di Venezia, chaired by Paolo Baratta, under Director David Chipperfield’s proposal. Siza will be honored at the Giardini of la Biennale, during the opening and award ceremony on August 29th, 2012.
“It is difficult to think of a contemporary architect who has maintained such a consistent presence within the profession as Álvaro Siza. That this presence is maintained by an architect that lives and works at the extreme Atlantic margin of Europe only serves to emphasize his authority and his status.”
Continue after the break to read more.
Vidago Palace & Spa / Alvaro Siza
Portuguese photographer Nelson Garrido shared with us one of the most recents projects by Pritzker laureate architect Alvaro Siza in Porto, Portugal. According to the client itself, “in stark contrast to the main building’s Belle Epoque opulence, The Spa is a minimalist oasis of clean lines and white marble. Designed by acclaimed architect Alvero Siza-Vieira, the modern, zen-like space has a distinctly calming quality which promotes an immediate sense of well-being – even before a single treatment has been enjoyed.”
Enjoy the rest of the images after the break.
Architect Álvaro Siza Lecture at the CCA
Coinciding with the exhibition Alturas de Macchu Picchu: Martín Chambi – Álvaro Siza at work on view at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) for an extended run until 29 April 2012, Pritzker prize-winning architect Álvaro Siza will give a not-to-be-missed lecture on Thursday 26 April 2012 at 7 pm at the CCA. The event is a rare opportunity to hear the preeminent architect speak in person. Siza’s lecture discusses his design development of the Iberê Camargo Museum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, completed in 2008 and noted for its sculptural volumes and tight integration with a coastal escarpment. As with all of Siza’s projects, hand sketches play a key role in the design process, from massing studies to fine-tuning details. For more information, please visit here.
Alturas de Macchu Picchu: Martín Chambi – Álvaro Siza at work
In 1995, Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza packed a few changes of clothes, some poetry books and a single sketchbook as he set forth to Peru. These few items were all he needed to record and interpret his voyage, allowing him to integrate his investigations into his architecture. More than a half a century earlier, Peruvian photographer Martín Chambi ventured into the peaks of Macchu Picchu were he captured a famous series of portraits of the ancient Inca ruins. His project was more political, it acted as a re-appropriation of the site by its locals, but the tools of Chambi and Siza are the same: the production of images to define a reality.
The Canadian Center for Architecture (CCA) presents Alturas de Macchu Picchu: Martín Chambi – Álvaro Siza at work – an exhibit featuring thirty-five original sketches by Álvaro Siza alongside the historic 1920s photographs by Martín Chambi, now on view at in the CCA’s Octagonal Gallery until April 22, 2012. Continue reading for more information.
Video: Alvaro Siza sings The Beatles
Architecture photographer Fernando Guerra (FG+SG) posted this short video of the renowned Portguese architect and Pritzker laureate (1992) Alvaro Siza, while working and singing to The Beatles. He looks quite inspired!
Fernando and Sergio Guerra (FG+SG) have the largest photo archive of Alvaro Siza’s work. Prints can be obtained at their online store.
AD Classics: Leça Swimming Pools / Alvaro Siza
Since its completion in 1966 the Leça Swimming Pool complex, by Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza, has been an internationally recognized building. Still almost half a century later, it has gracefully retained its architectural integrity and remained a popular retreat. The Leça Swimming Pools has established itself as one of Siza’s greatest early works, and as an example of his careful reconciliation between nature and his design.
AD Classics: Santa Maria Church de Canaveses / Alvaro Siza
As is true with most old churches in Portugal, retaining walls, flights of stairs and large forecourts are designed around a building to help maintain it’s distance from its surroundings. This general strategy is at play in Santa Maria Church in Marco de Canaveses, where Alvaro Siza makes use of the sloping site and lifting the building on a 4m high plateau.
More on Alvaro Siza and this classic church after the break.
Design + Wine exhibit at SFMOMA
“How Wine Became Modern: Design + Wine 1976 to Now” is a brand new exhibit at the San Francisco Modern Museum of Art. Co-created and designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the exhibit was organized by Henry Urbach, SFMOMA’s Helen Hilton Raiser Curator of Architecture and Design. Bringing attention to the wine industry and its integration with the latest artists, designers and architects the exhibit will be on display at SFMOMA until April. A main part of the exhibit is featuring the architectural spaces that house the wine making process, tastings, museums, etc. Some big name architects who have developed designs for cutting-edge wineries include: Zaha Hadid, Frank Gehry, Norman Foster, Herzog and de Meuron, Renzo Piano and Alvaro Siza.
Mr. Urbach stated that the idea stemmed “from an observation and curiosity about why there was so much activity around wine in various design fields. There are probably a score of world famous architects who have done wineries in the last fifteen years and they’re not doing dairy farms or orange juice bottling plants.”
Here at ArchDaily we have featured many great wineries. Be sure to take a look at Zaha Hadid’s Tondonia Vina Pavilion, Norman Foster’s Faustino Winery, as well as AD Wineries Roundup I and Roundup II.
Architects: Diller Scofidio + Renfro
Principals-in-Charge: Elizabeth Diller, Ricardo Scofidio and Charles Renfro
Project Leader: Ilana Altman
Project Manager: David Allin
Project Team: Kumar Atre, Donna Pallotta, Jose Vidalon and Chris Hillyard
Amore Pacific Research & Design Center / Alvaro Siza, Carlos Castanheira and Kim Jong Kyu
Architects: Alvaro Siza, Carlos Castanheira and Kim Jong Kyu
Location: Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Practice in Portugal: Carlos Castanheira & Clara Bastai
Coordinator: Pedro Carvalho
Collaborators: Eliana Sousa, Im Yo Jin, Ricardo Serra, Patrícia Carvalho, João Figueiredo
Practice in Korea: M.A.R.U. Metropolitan Architecture Research Unit
Coordinator: Kim Soo Young
Collaborators: Min Jun Kee, Jang Byul, Kim Young Soon, Lee Zoo Hwa
Project Area: 26,029 sqm
Project Year: 2008-2010
Photographs: FG+SG –Fernando Guerra, Sergio Guerra
Mimesis Museum / Alvaro Siza + Castanheira & Bastai Arquitectos Associados + Jun Sung Kim
Architects: Alvaro Siza + Castanheira & Bastai Arquitectos Associados + Jun Sung Kim
Location: Paju Book City, Republic of Korea
Project Coordinator: Dalila Gomes
Construction Coordinator: Young-il Park
Collaborators: Chungheon Han, João Figueiredo
Client: Open Books Publishing Co.
Structure: Gayoon ENC
Mechanical Installations: Hansan Engineering Co.
Electricity: Jung-Myoung Engeneering Group Co.
Construction Company: Hanool Construction Co.
Project Year: 2007-2009
Photographs: FG+SG – Fernando Guerra, Sergio Guerra
Fundação Iberê Camargo in Porto Alegre, Brazil / Alvaro Siza
The new building for the Ibere Camargo Foundation in Porto Alegre, Brazil designed by Portugal´s Alvaro Siza, is a big rectangular white concrete structure. It has a big central space enclose by circulations and exhibition spaces. Some of this circulations separate from the main body as arms going out through the facade.
I´ve always loved the big white orthogonal Siza buildings, and i think that this form is really informed by brazilian modernists, resulting on sculptural rock in front of the river with an amazing light use, a tradition on Siza´s works.
Pictures by Grazielle Bruscato, plans taken from Fundação Iberê Camargo.
