Alvaro Siza

With a career spanning more than half a century, Alvaro Siza Vieira (1933) is widely regarded as one of the leading exponents of modern Portuguese architecture and one of the world’s most prominent architects of the last few decades. His structures, ranging from swimming pools to public buildings, are “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” (Enc. Britannica). He has continued in the footsteps of the great Rationalists, also by recovering materials and using traditional methods, while keeping an original and distinctive style. At a young age, Siza wanted to become a sculptor, “but his father’s objections and his own admiration for the work of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí” led him to enroll in an architecture program at the Porto Fine Arts School (now part ....

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