Ribera-Serrallo' located in Barcelona, Spain

One of the main goals or objectives for architecture would be thinking about the design and the environment where it would be set on, however, many architects are focusing in the most part in just the design and not very much in the life where it would “live in”. Alvaro Siza’s works are view as works where some people would argue against them and some would applaud them, and this is what any design project would have something inevitable. But what it counts are the reasons behind it, for example Siza’s works are somehow “simple” designs from the outside,but beautiful for most of the people, the use of line is amazing, the way he utilizes the lines establish already by earth with the ones from his designs and projects. Now when the making up of the project comes Siza’s talent appears from nowhere, his ability to observe the site and installing his works in there to make them fit perfectly. Siza makes his works seem that they have been there for years, making them almost one overall design instead of just the built part. Siza’s use of color is not very evident for some people, the use of a light color in most of his works I would say is because of what Siza really expresses in all of them.

Light Line Weight

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Weight Lines

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Section Pisinas de Mares

For example, in most of them the use of the color white over stands from others, white meaning its purity and perfection of the works. Is not about the “style” that is not of importance, what it really counts is the relation between the work and life.

Lesson ONE Designing is no so much about going crazy in being creative, is more about how we put all the factors and challenges in front of us and make them work together. Create solutions for problems that people have. Spaces that would be able to make people feel comfortable on it. And this is pretty much what Siza does on his designs he focuses all the factors and has the ablity to overcome the challenges and obstacles can be part of our world.

Lesson TWO I was able to observe how in reality ever single design that is created would need to put it feet on the ground. So it would create a positive or negative effect in the environment, something hard to figure out since we don’t have the perfect idea of how it’s going to look installed in the site, but is something that we need to push through it. Siza’s works are amazingly installed, encouraging them to seem that they have been there for years and earth has taken the work and had transform it into part of the earth. The vision to predict how something is going to look, takes experience that comes within practice so we can connect pieces together to create a piece of art that has so much story of process and time put into it. All the details are super important, there needs to be a why? in every single detail to make all the work readable for the viewer or the person who will interact with the work. Siza’s understanding of all the concepts and all the factors of the projects is what really makes him the architect he is today, being able to observe its surroundings and come up with an overall idea of what is his main objective, what is what he is trying to show or communicate.

Lesson Three The relation between architecture and landscape architecture is growing in an incredible pace, since time ago they were not given a lot of importance in relation with the use of both at the same time, but the individual use. Siza for example, uses the his architecture skills and talent to transform the landscape, this with the goal of thinking about people, humans take a super important factor in architecture since they are the ones who would be using that space and are the ones that can be in a certain way affected by the project, most of the time in a positive way since that is the objective.

Composition diagram1.5” x 3”

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Fernando Tavora,along with Siza were one of the references of the Porto School of Architecture. Both architects worked together between 1955 and 1958

Rafael Moneo Valles,was able to organize for the first time a show of Siza’s work in the United States.

Eduardo Soto de Moura,collaborated with Siza in the Serpentine Pavillon design as well as some expo’s.

Start Timeline Here

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Alvaro Joaquim de Meio Siza Vieira better known in the architectural world as Alvaro Siza is a Portuguese architect born on June 25, 1933 in Porto, Portugal. Because of his interest for architecture he developed skills since he was young being able to study at the University of Porto School of Architecture one of the top 10 best known architecture schools in Portugal, studying there from 1949 through 1955. Siza finished his first work that was finish a year earlier from graduating, his work required him to build four houses in his hometown Matosinhos. Being a really important factor to open his private practice that same year.Although he finished time ago he received an opportunity to teach at his old University in 1966, and after 10 long years he got named Professor of Architecture.Siza started working with Modernist Fernando Tavora from Portugal as well, Siza was enormously influenced by him, he said, “Távora was a very cultivated man, he was very interested in the traditions of Portugal. But he was interested in the continuity of that tradition, of how it could be the basis for a modern transformation not in any one architectural style. This was very important for me.” Tavora was able to affect Siza’s mentality of how to create and visualize the world provoking Siza to make his works in between a specific context.From 1970s through 1980s Siza’s reputation started to flourish, while Spain and Portugal were finally overpassing the time when then were ruled by Franco and Salazar dictatorships. After

emerging from the ruins, his voice suddenly appeared as a rescuer for the architecture in Europe but especially in Spain and Portugal. All this important issues made him rise from the hard times not only he was overcoming but also his country was to be the great architect he is today following that creativeness and visual perception for things. Some of the projects he started with after appearing from his silence were low income residential constructions up in Berlin and commercial complex in The Hague.Now Alvaro Siza’s works are able to drive you through time and are able to encourage people realize not only in the building or work but as well on their surroundings, that is what really visual communication is all the language and information someone can give by visuals, however text is something that it is said straightforward. Siza is able to make his works encourage people to see that his work and design could have been there for years, causing his design to be part of the site making its stance look comfortable and not out of place. Therefore, by focusing in the relation between the work and life Siza is able to create a style so unique that is able to speak by itself, I would say anyone can create their own style what it really matters is the benefits of it in relation with the people and the site, not only why it makes it different from others, but what makes it good for the environment and the people that are going to be interacting with it.

drawing exampleimage produced by creative individual; provide citation for source of image

The Boa Nova Tea House located in Porto, Portugal was completed in 1963 while Siza was finding his architectural practice. I related to To Inventory because Siza needed to take in consideration not only the site where the house was going to be located, but the objects and nature that was going to make the project a challenge to complete since the topography of the area. Now, Siza was able to establish this relation between the house and the rocky terrain, being able to tell the viewer how the house looks to be already part of the terrain.

To Inventory

Santa Maria Church, completed in 1996 is located in Marco de Canavezes, Portugal. Just by looking at it, it would seem is a simple work by Siza, the point of it is observing it, observe the surroundings, how the church is proportionate at scale with the neighborhood, one of the principle points to observe how Siza made the light his friend and was able to make the light affect the work in a positive way. It is show in the church how Siza was able to control the sloping site causing the building to raise having a notion of the church to be taller but in reality is just the slope of the terrain.

Alvaro Siza design this work called The Building on the Water, located in an industrial park in China’s Jiangsu province that sits in the middle of 100,000 square meter lake. We are able to see how the building goes out of the context of the industrial area, being evident to the viewer or spectator but at the same it is noticeable to them how it relates to the New Salt Industrial Park using same tones of colors and almost same green areas. It would seem that someone grabbed a part of the park and located it in the middle of the artificial lake.

'Ribera-Serrallo' located in Barcelona, Spain is a super interesting sports complex for people around the world, since is linked with the amazing creativeness of Siza, by using the sun light for his advantage and make it into a “natural” design since the sun moves, the light spots move with it. It looks that every single detail is perfect and the organization of things are perfectly efficient for the use of people. Because at the end that is the overall objective not only making a ‘cool’ design, but creating a specific space for people to move around it and interact with it.

drawing exampleimage produced by creative individual; provide citation for source of image

drawing exampleimage produced by creative individual; provide citation for source of image

drawing exampleimage produced by creative individual; provide citation for source of image

To Present

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To Communicate

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By 1987, the spanish architect Jose Rafael Moneon , the dean of Harvard Graduate School of Design, put together the first show of Siza’s work in the United States.

One of his earliest works was Piscinas de Mares located in his hometown Porto.

His first work in South America was the Southern Municipal Distric Center, completed in 2002 located in Rosario, Argentina.

Determine all the factors

Observe not just look

Relation between work and life

IBERÊ CAMARGO

He studied at University of Porto School from 1949 through 1955.

In 1977 after Portugal’s revolution, the government asked him to design a plan housing project for the city. The association was called SAAL.

The Boa Nova Tea House in 1963, the Faculty of Architecture from 1987 to 1993, and the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art in 1977

The fact that Portugal’s Revolution was over, it opened the door of opportunities for many architects. Siza took advantage of the situation

In 1992, he was awarded with the famous Pritzker Prize for the renovation project that he kind of directed in Lisbon, Portugal

In 2008 he completed the museum called Iberê Camargo Foundation, Porto Alegre, Brazil. Dedicated to the art of Ibere Camargo.

Siza Vieira taught at the school from 1966 to 1969, returning in 1976.

DesignPeople

Purpose The environment

Idea leads to a different idea.Challenges

Piscinas de Mares, Porto, Putugal

Santa Maria Church, Marco de Canavezes

The building on the Water, China

The Boa Nova House, Porto, Portugal