Complex simplicity. The seminal book on Portugal's master architec

When Álvaro Siza, one of the great figures of contemporary architecture, won the prestigious Pritzker Prize in 1992, the Jury described his forms as “molded by light, [with] a deceptive simplicity about them; they are honest. They solve design problems directly…. That simplicity, upon closer examination however, is revealed as great complexity. There is a subtle mastery underlying what appears to be natural creations.”

Born in Matosinhos, Portugal, in 1933, Siza created his own practice in Porto in 1954, and he has been a Professor of Construction at the University of Porto since 1976. The architect can fill shelf afer shelf with his awards and prizes to-date: He received the European Community’s Mies van der Rohe Prize in 1988 and the Praemium Imperiale in Japan in 1997, the 2009 RIBA Gold Medal, and the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 2012 Venice Architecture Biennale.

He has built a large number of projects in Portugal, and worked on the restructuring of the Chiado area of Lisbon following a devastating fire in 1988. Siza designed both the Portuguese Pavilion for the 1998 Lisbon World’s Fair and the 2005 Serpentine Pavilion in London in collaboration with Eduardo Souto de Moura. He completed the Serralves Foundation in Porto, 1998, and the Museum for the Iberê Camargo Foundation in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 2008.

As for all previous TASCHEN architect’s monographs, this book was realized in close collaboration with the architect and includes a full catalogue of his work to date.

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The author:

Philip Jodidio (born 1954) studied art history and economics at Harvard, and edited Connaissance des Arts for over 20 years. His books include TASCHEN’s Architecture Now! series, and monographs on Tadao Ando, Norman Foster, Richard Meier, Jean Nouvel, and Zaha Hadid. He is internationally renowned as one of the most popular writers on the subject of architecture.

Впервые в России подготовлен альбом, посвященный творчеству знаменитого португальского архитектора Алваро Сизы. Работы данного архитектора известны не только в Португалии, но и по всему миру. Архитектура Алваро Сизы - это не только новые здания и сооружения, но и прекрасные работы по реставрации памятников архитектуры, а также примеры велико¬лепного ландшафтного проектирования. Обладатель престижной Притцкеровской премии известен также и как отличный рисовальщик. Иллюстративный и текстовой комментарий к пер¬вой русскоязычной книге предоставлен Архивом Алваро Сизы.

The Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza is one of the world’s most respected architects. The recipient of many awards, including the US Pritzker Prize for Architecture in 1992, Siza has built and taught in Portugal and internationally since the late 1950s. This monograph is a comprehensive study of Siza’s work, from his early built work – the Boa Nova Tea House, Portugal (1958–63) – to his latest projects. Siza has received critical acclaim for works in Germany (Schlesisches Tor, Berlin), Spain (Galician Centre of Contemporary Art, Santiago de Compostela), Italy (restoration of the Campo di Marte, Venice) and Portugal (Portuguese Pavilion at Expo ’98, Lisbon). His projects have been exhibited widely. Siza’s architecture is vigorous and coherent – able to respond to the environment without detracting from its functional and stylistic identity. The book charts over forty years of work and includes built works, projects, writings, photographs, drawings and many of Siza’s sketches. An introduction by Kenneth Frampton describes the works’ evolution, while writings by Siza are interspersed throughout the book, offering a unique personal perspective to his work and to twentieth-century architecture as a whole.