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Last month another building by Álvaro Siza Vieira, the Nadir Afonso Contemporary Art Museum in Chaves, Portugal commemorated its inauguration. To celebrate its opening, Fernando Guerra, from Últimas reportagens shared with us an amazing series of photographs.

See all the photos and learn more about the museum below.

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In honor of Álvaro Siza Vieira's birthday, photographer Fernando Guerra has shared photos of the Auditorium Theatre of Llinars del Valles project in Spain.

Through 181 images, Guerra shows us Siza's masterful play of light and shadow. The photos allow us to experience a full day at the museum: the morning sun, followed by sunset and finally, the museum illuminated at night. 

Below, see the gallery and learn more.

Portugal has unveiled the theme of its contribution to the 2016 Venice Biennale: “Neighborhood – Where Alvaro Meets Aldo.” Curated by Nuno Grande, a Portugese architect, teacher, critic, and curator, and Roberto Cremascoli, an Italian architect and longtime collaborator of Álvaro Siza Vieira, the exhibition will focus on the works of both Álvaro Siza and Aldo Rossi.

The Portuguese exhibition is unique in that it will be installed on Venice’s Giudecca island, where Siza’s 1985 social housing project Campo di Marte is located. Campo di Marte is part of a larger plan on the island, which includes designs by other architects such as Aldo Rossi, and was never fully completed.

At the Expo ’98 Portuguese National Pavilion, structure and architectural form work in graceful harmony. Situated at the mouth of the Tagus River in Lisbon, Portugal, the heart of the design is an enormous and impossibly thin concrete canopy, draped effortlessly between two mighty porticoes and framing a commanding view of the water. The simple, gestural move is both weightless and mighty, a bold architectural solution to the common problem of the covered public plaza. Under the graceful touch of Álvaro Siza Vieira, physics and physical form theatrically engage one another, and simplicity and clarity elevate the pavilion to the height of modern sophistication.

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It could have been a rectangular prism whose length measures forty-one meters and a half, whose width measures thirty-three meters, and whose height measures twenty-five meters. It could have been, if the projection had ended in the trace of a pure rule. It could have been almost the same: three elevated plans, each formed by three rectangular exhibitions rooms, placed at two consecutive faces and connected by ramps that run on the two other faces. Then, a four-story-high atrium rises between circulations and rooms, creating a diagonal symmetry inside the building.

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• Architects

  Álvaro Siza, Carlos Castanheira

• Location

  Huai'an, Jiangsu, China

• Architects in Charge

  Álvaro Siza e Carlos Castanheira

• Portugal’s Office

  CC&CB - Arquitectos Lda.

• Principals in charge

  1st phase (preliminary project) : Pedro Carvalho, Luís Reis. 2st phase (execution project) : Luís Reis

• Collaborators

  Diana Vasconcelos, Susana Oliveira, Elisabete Queirós, Orlando Sousa, Rita Ferreira, João Figueiredo, Caitriona, Carolina Leite, Anand Sonecha.

• Local Permit Architects and Engineers

  United Architects & Engineers Co., Ltda

• Project management & construction supervision

  Stephen Wang, Richard Wang, Chiou-Huei Lin (WZWX Architecture Group)

• 3d Models/Renders

  Francesco Sechi, João Figueiredo, Pedro Afonso, José Soares

• Creative Integration Consultant

  Xue Xue Institute, Xue Xue Foundation

• Engineering

  Shanghai Qingya Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Co. (HVAC, electrical, plumbing, telecommunications and security installation) RFR Shanghai (Stuctural review) Geberit China (Water drainage)

• Construction company

  Zhejiang Urban Construction Group

• Consultants

  HDP – Paulo Fidalgo (Structure) GET – Raul Bessa (Mechanical) GPIC – Alexandre Martins (Lighting) SIKA – Helena Beleza (Waterproofing of the concrete construction)

• Client

  Por-Shih Lin, Diretor da Shihlien Chemical Industrial (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.

• Project Area

  11000 sqm

• Project Year

  2014

Bonjour Tristesse is a social housing project designed by Portuguese Architect Álvaro Siza Vieira. Located in Berlin, the project was Siza’s first built work outside of his native country. Siza’s design offers a meaningful precedent in urban densification, demonstrating a delicate balance between contextual awareness, creative freedom, and progressive vision.

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Commissioned after winning an international competition in 2010, Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza Viera and Granada-based Juan Domingo Santos have unveiled designs for a new entrance and visitors center at the Alhambra World Heritage site. A result of “superimposing a regular geometry over a territory of topography,” the new gate rearranges visitor access into the more than 1000-year-old monument through a series of enclosed, shaded courtyards and open, sunlit terraces.

Following to his experience at the Alhambra in 2009, Siza journaled about his envision for the new gate, stating: “…from bright sun to shadows, from warmth to coolness, from wide to intimate focus, I like to dream about my project before I set it down in any detail.”

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.

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+ 63

• Architects

  Álvaro Siza Vieira

• 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 m2

• Project Year

  2013

• Photographs

  João Morgado - Architecture Photography

+ 11

• Architects

  Álvaro Siza Vieira

• Location

  Vidago, Portugal

• Architect in Charge

  Alvaro Siza-Vieira

• Photographs

  Nelson Garrido

+ 54

• Architects

  Alvaro Leite Siza

• Location

  Ribeira de Pena, Portugal

• Services

  GOP

• Landscape

  Alvaro Leite Siza Vieira

• Client

  Luís Marinho Leite Barbosa da Silva

• Contractor

  Óscar Gouveia

• Materials

  Concrete

• Site Area

  1000 m2

• Area

  180.0 m2

• Project Year

  2005

• Photographs

  Fernando Guerra | FG+SG

+ 18

• Architects

  Álvaro Siza Vieira

• Location

  Leça de Palmeira, Portugal

• Architect

  Alvaro Siza

• References

  Galinsky, Architecture Projects

• Project Year

  1966