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Aug 31

Giardino delle Vergini Installations by Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura

Posted in: Álvaro Siza, Eduardo Souto de Moura, slideshows, Venice Arch Biennale 2012

Portuguese architects Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura have created a pair of installations in the Giardino delle Vergini for the Venice Architecture Biennale (+ slideshow).

Giardino delle Vergini Installations by Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura

Siza, who was this year awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, has installed a series of bright red walls amongst the trees and plants of the garden, while Souto de Moura has created a sandy-coloured structure that frames views over the waters of the Arsenale.

Giardino delle Vergini Installations by Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura

Angled slices provide windows in the walls of Souto de Moura’s piece and Siza’s features a cantilevered canopy that shades visitors as they leave.

Giardino delle Vergini Installations by Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura

Landscape designer Piet Oudolf designed the surrounding gardens for the 2010 biennale and returned this year to maintain them.

Giardino delle Vergini Installations by Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura

The Venice Architecture Biennale opened to the public this week and will run until 25 November.

Giardino delle Vergini Installations by Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura

Click here to see more projects by Siza, or here to see architecture by Souto de Moura.

Giardino delle Vergini Installations by Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura

See all our stories about the Venice Architecture Biennale 2012 »

Giardino delle Vergini Installations by Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura

Here’s some more information from the exhibition:

Siza’s piece accompanies and complements the installation by his long-time collaborator Eduardo Souto de Moura.

Giardino delle Vergini Installations by Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura

If the latter considers the choreography of views as an area of architectural enquiry, Siza’s evokes the intimate bodily scale of the streets of Venice, and frames and makes new settings for the trees and planting of the Giardino delle Vergini.

Giardino delle Vergini Installations by Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura

Souto de Moura’s piece, looking out across the water, creates both a gateway to the gardens, and directs views across the waters of the Arsenale.

Giardino delle Vergini Installations by Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura

The piece is intended as a reflection on the composition of facades and windows, while interpreting the surroundings of the garden and water.

Giardino delle Vergini Installations by Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura

Souto de Moura says “Geography become how we want it to be and not as it has to be. This is the great leap of the modern movement, and a result of postmodernism.”

Giardino delle Vergini Installations by Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura

Siza was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at this year’s International Architecture Exhibition by La Biennale di Venezia.

The post Giardino delle Vergini Installations by
Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura appeared first on Dezeen.

Jun 27

Álvaro Siza awarded Golden Lion for Venice Architecture Biennale

Posted in: Álvaro Siza, Dezeen Wire, Do not show on the Homepage, Golden Lion, Venice Arch Biennale 2012

Dezeen Wire: Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza Vieira is to be awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the opening of the 13th International Architecture Biennale in Venice on 29 August.

Alvaro Siza Vieira

Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas received the award two years ago – see our earlier story.

See all our stories about Álvaro Siza »

Here’s the full press release:

Álvaro Siza Vieira has been chosen to be the recipient of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement of the 13th International Architecture Exhibition – Common Ground (Venice, Giardini and Arsenale, August 29th – November 25th, 2012).

The decision is made by the Board of la Biennale di Venezia, chaired by Paolo Baratta, under Director David Chipperfield’s proposal, with the following motivation:

“I am equal in size to whatever I see, not hemmed in by the size I am” (Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet)

“It is difficult to think of a contemporary architect who has maintained such a consistent presence within the profession as Álvaro Siza. That this presence is maintained by an architect that lives and works at the extreme Atlantic margin of Europe only serves to emphasise his authority and his status.”

“Since the early appreciation of the Boa Nova restaurant and the swimming pools at Leca de Palmeira and a reputation confirmed by the early houses, Siza has maintained a unique position in the architectural galaxy. This position is full of paradox. Siza has upheld a consistent production of works at the highest level, yet without the slightest hint of the overt professionalism and promotion that has become part of the contemporary architect’s machinery. Apparently running in the opposite direction to the rest of the profession he always seems to be out in front, seemingly untainted and undaunted by the practical and intellectual challenges he sets himself.”

“Secured by his isolated location, he exudes worldly wisdom. Experimenting with forms of extreme geometry he manages to produce buildings of great rigor. Developing an architectural language that is uniquely his, he seems to speak to all of us. While his work exudes the security of judgment, it is clearly intensified through cautious reflection. While we are dazzled by the lightness of his buildings, we feel the seriousness of their substance.

Those of us fortunate enough to have heard him speak about architecture, using words as sparingly and as precise as the fine lines of his drawings, know that these works are not the product of a conventional talent but of a mind sophisticatedly exercised by the confidence of knowledge and the wisdom of doubt.”

The Golden Lion will be officially awarded to Álvaro Siza Vieira on Wednesday August 29th, 2012 – 11am at the Giardini of la Biennale, during the opening and award ceremony of the 13th International Architecture Exhibition.

Oct 04

Carlos Ramos Pavilion by Álvaro Siza

Posted in: Álvaro Siza

Here are some images by photographer Nelson Garrido of a restored architecture school building in Porto by Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza.

Carlos Ramos Pavilion by Álvaro Siza

Siza originally completed the two-storey Carlos Ramos Pavilion in 1986.

Carlos Ramos Pavilion by Álvaro Siza

Student studios fill both floors of the building and overlook a central courtyard.

Carlos Ramos Pavilion by Álvaro Siza

A tapered staircase at the corner of the school connects the two floors and leads to a small meeting space lined with curved wooden benches.

Carlos Ramos Pavilion by Álvaro Siza

Siza was awarded the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 2009 – click here to see a selection of photographs by Duccio Malagamba that document his work.

Carlos Ramos Pavilion by Álvaro Siza

Here’s some text from Siza Vieira that further explains the building:

Pavilion Carlos Ramos – Faculty Of Architecture, Porto.

As a succinct summary of the courtyard type, the pavilion is located at the apex of a former estate, opposite the Dean’s office.

Carlos Ramos Pavilion by Álvaro Siza

With the external walls almost completely blank, the inner courtyard elevations are opened up.

Carlos Ramos Pavilion by Álvaro Siza

Diagonal views from all rooms establish links with the surroundings and a view of the Douro River estuary.

Carlos Ramos Pavilion by Álvaro Siza

Service and access cores are contained in the corners.

Carlos Ramos Pavilion by Álvaro Siza

The tapered staircase leading from ground level to the first floor emerges onto a curved balcony with in-built seats.

The projections and chamfers of the building’s configuration follow a geometric “outline” which is marked on the perimeter of the linear lawn, and ends, as all lines must, in a scalloped granite block opposite the Dean’s office.

One of the elevations of the pavilion too, makes a somewhat unruly gesture.

The attention to details (ironwork, furniture, light fittings) is appropriate for a quiet space for study, while also perhaps giving the users a sense of formal discipline and inspiration.

Click above for larger image

Paraninfo de la Universidad del País Vasco by Álvaro Siza

Posted in: Álvaro Siza

Paraninfo de la Universidad del País Vasco by Alvaro Siza

Photographer Montse Zamorano has sent us his photographs of Álvaro Siza’s recently-completed auditorium for the Universidad del País Vasco in Bilbao.