Alvaro Siza: Complete Works - Hardcover

Frampton, Kenneth

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0714840041 ISBN 13: 9780714840048

Publisher: Phaidon Press, 2000

Synopsis

Alvaro Siza is one of the world's most respected architects. Since the 1950s he has built and taught extensively, both in Portugal and internationally. Siza's architecture is based on a unity of space and volume. It is vigorous and coherent - each work reveals a unique sensitivity to the rural or urban context to which it belongs without detracting from its functional and stylistic identity. Siza has received critical acclaim for a range of works including: the Boa Nova Tea House and Restaurant, Matoshinhos (1958-63); the Borges & Irmao Bank, Vila do Conde (1978-86); the Bonjour Tristesse Residential Complex, Schlesisches Tor, Berlin (1980-4); the reconstruction of the Chiado district, Lisbon (1988-); the Galician Centre of Contemporary Art, Santiago de Compostela (1988-93) and the Portuguese Pavilion at Expo '98, Lisbon (1995-8).
This monograph is a comprehensive study of Alvaro Siza's work and charts over forty years of buildings and projects, represented by photographs, working drawings and many of Siza's sketches. An introductory essay by Kenneth Frampton examines Siza's prolific practice and its evolution, while writings by Siza are interspersed throughout the book, offering a unique personal perspective on his work and twentieth-century architeture as a whole.

About this title

About the Author

Kenneth Frampton is an internationally respected architectural critic who holds the Ware Professorship at the Graduate School of Architecture and Planning, Columbia University, New York. He lectures extensively in the US and Europe, and has also written, edited and contributed to numerous publications on contemporary architecture. He is the author of Modern Architecture: A Critical History (1980; revised 1985 and 1992) and Studies in Tectonic Culture (1997). His collected essays Labour, Work and Architecture are published by Phaidon.

Review

'A mighty volume that researches and analyses the architect's work throughout his entire career...The book is sumptuous in its contents. With 620 large format pages, it unfolds the evoluation of Siza's projects, largely through drawings. The analysis by Dal Co and Frampton and a huge array of drawings collectively help to comprehend the achievements of the architect.' (Indian Architect and Builder) 'This comprehensive volume documents more than forty years of this acclaimed architect's work, featuring every one of his projects large and small...the documentation of Siza's work is so complete that even those less familiar with the details and intricacies of the design world can trace his professional evolution and development. An exceptional publication in which the buildings have been allowed to speak for themselves, and in doing so have created a pictorial history of the vision and life work of this revered architect.' (The British Bulletin of Publications on Latin America, the Caribbean, Portugal and Spain) 'This book is so comprehensive in its illustrative material that an outsider with no previous awareness of Siza's oeuvre can make fair and balanced judgements on how the architect has evolved, which buildings work, and where he has become tired ... an exceptional book.' (Times Literary Supplement) 'Frampton's massive volume must surely be the most complete collection of Siza's work assembled to date. Chronologically arranged, the elegant photography mixed with detailed plans, elevations and sections allow the reader to appreciate the architect's methods and his aims through four decades of work. The well-written introductory chapter sets Siza's work in the context of 20th century Europe with comparisons to his peers using a number of project examples. Ultimately this is a very satisfying and incredibly comprehensive book that sits nicely on the coffee table but also serves as an excellent reference volume.' (C3)

Edition details

• Publisher: Phaidon Press
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0714840041
• ISBN 13: 9780714840048
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 620