Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TWO LEGENDARY ARCHITECTS
Porto is home to not one but two celebrated contemporary architects: Álvaro Siza Vieira (born 1933) and Eduardo
Souto de Moura (born 1952). Both remain fairly unknown outside their home country, which is surprising given
their loyal following among fellow architects and their long and distinguished careers. Both have earned the ac-
claimed Pritzker Prize, the Nobel of the architecture world (Siza Vieira in 1992; Souto de Moura in 2011). The
two men are quite close, and they even have offices in the same building. They have collaborated on a handful of
projects (prior to going out on his own, Souto de Moura also worked for Siza).
On the surface, Siza's work may seem less than dazzling. Stucco, stone, tile and glass are his building materials
of choice. Place means everything in Siza Vieira's work, with geography and climate carefully considered before
any plans are laid, regardless of the size or scale of the project. Many of his works reside outside the country, al-
though the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art in Porto and the cliffside Boa Nova Casa Chá near Matosin-
hos are two of his most famous works in Portugal.
Like Siza, Souto de Moura spurns flashy designs. His works feature minimalist but artful structures that utilize
local building materials. The Braga stadium (the Estádio Municipal de Braga), built for the 2004 European foot-
ball championship, is set in a former granite quarry (with granite from the site being used to make concrete for
the structure). The rock walls of the quarry lie behind one goal; the other side opens to views of the city. Better
known is Souto de Moura's design for the Paula Rego museum in Cascais. This work in red concrete is distin-
guished by its two pyramid-shaped towers, giving a modern reinterpretation to classic Portuguese shapes (which
appear in chimneys, lighthouses, towers and in old palaces such as the Palacio Nacional de Sintra).
The Modern Era
The Salazar years favoured decidedly severe, Soviet-style, state commissions (eg Coimbra
University's dull faculty buildings, which replaced elegant 18th-century neoclassical
ones). Ugly buildings and apartment blocks rose on city outskirts. Notable exceptions dat-
ing from the 1960s are Lisbon's Palácio da Justiça in the Campolide district, and the glori-
ously sleek Museu Calouste Gulbenkian. The beautiful wood-panelled Galeto cafe-res-
taurant is a time capsule from this era.
The tendency towards urban mediocrity continued after the 1974 revolution, although
architects such as Fernando Távora and Eduardo Souto de Moura have produced impress-
ive schemes. Lisbon's postmodern Amoreiras shopping complex, by Tomás Taveira, is an-
other striking contribution.
Portugal's most prolific contemporary architect is Álvaro Siza Vieira. A believer in
clarity and simplicity, his expressionist approach is reflected in projects such as the Pavil-
hão de Portugal for Expo 98, Porto's splendid Museu de Arte Contemporânea and the
Igreja de Santa Maria at Marco de Canavezes, south of Amarante. He has also restored
central Lisbon's historic Chiado shopping district with notable sensitivity, following a ma-
jor fire in 1988.
