Spotlight: Eduardo Souto de Moura

Eduardo Souto de Moura (born 25 July 1952), the Portuguese architect that won the 2011 Pritzker Prize, is known for designs that are formally simple yet serious and at times, dramatic, created through his thoughtful use of colors and materials. His architecture is both versatile and consistent, contextual yet universal, and rarely affected by current trends or styles.

Spotlight: Eduardo Souto de Moura - More Images+ 16

Eduardo Souto de Moura, 2011 Pritzker laureate, in front of the Casa das Histórias Paula Rego. Photo by Francisco Nogueira.
Braga Municipal Stadium. Image © Leonardo Finotti

Born in Porto, Souto de Moura enrolled at the School of Fine Arts in Porto, studying sculpture and later transferring to architecture at the University of Porto—a decision he credits to a meeting with the artist Donald Judd. While still a student, Souto de Moura interned in the studio of Álvaro Siza, where he worked for five years until starting his own practice in 1980, following Siza’s advice. Although his early career included mostly private homes, as his career has progressed Souto de Moura has been commissioned for larger public buildings, including the Braga Municipal Stadium (2004), the Burgo Tower (2007), and the Casa das Histórias Paula Rego (2008).

Burgo Tower. Image © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG
27 Dwelling in Sete Cidades / Eduardo Souto de Moura + Adriano Pimenta. Image © Luis Ferreira Alves

Souto de Moura has been described as "neo-Miesian," something he addressed in an interview with El Croquis by saying "I find Mies increasingly fascinating... There is a way of reading him which is just to regard him as a minimalist. But he always oscillated between classicism and neoplasticism... He was already so modern he was 'post.'" This tension can also be seen in Souto de Moura's work, as he balances materiality and minimalism, plastic form-making and abstraction.

Casa da Musica Subway Station. Image © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG
Braga Municipal Stadium. Image © Leonardo Finotti

In 2011, he was awarded the Pritzker Prize; the jury praised Souto de Moura for “his unique capacity to embrace reality while employing abstraction," noting that Souto de Moura's architectural language "transforms physicality into the metaphysical.”

Convento Das Bernardas. Image © Luis Ferreira Alves

See all of Eduardo Souto de Moura's work featured on ArchDaily via the thumbnails below, and further coverage via the links beneath those:

Spotlight: Eduardo Souto de Moura - More Images+ 16

2011 Pritzker Prize: Eduardo Souto de Moura

2018 Venice Biennale Winners: Eduardo Souto de Moura, Switzerland, Great Britain, architecten de vylder vinck taillieu, Rahul Mehrotra, Andra Matin

Eduardo Souto de Moura to receive Israel's prestigious Wolf Prize

AD Interviews Eduardo Souto de Moura On His Latest Prize

Eduardo Souto de Moura Wins the Ibero-American Award for Architecture and Urbanism

Winners Announced for 2013 Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design

Siza, Souto de Moura, Kuma Reflect on Their 'Sensing Spaces' Exhibitions

Video: Projects by Eduardo Souto de Moura

References: Pritzker Prize, Wikipedia

About this author
Cite: AD Editorial Team. "Spotlight: Eduardo Souto de Moura" 25 Jul 2019. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/406801/happy-birthday-eduardo-souto-de-moura> ISSN 0719-8884

Casa das Histórias Paula Rego. Image © Fernando Guerra |  FG+SG

聚焦: 艾德瓦尔多·苏托·德·莫拉

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