PORTO.- The renowned Pritzker Prize winning Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza has signed a public deed formalising the donation of part of his archive to
Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, in Porto, Portugal. The donated archive consists of 40 projects including sketches, plans, drawings and scale models of some of his most significant projects (see list below).
The donation forms part of a collaboration between Serralves, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (in Lisbon, Portugal) and the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA, in Montreal, Canada) the three institutions designated by Alvaro Siza to receive his archive, a privileged testimony of his work that spans more than six decades.
The three institutions were considered by the architect to be the most appropriate for the management and conservation of his archive, and above all to foster a new research model for international cooperation, in order to expand public awareness of architecture in Portugal and abroad, by providing his archive for the purposes of consultation.
The collaborative project of Serralves, Gulbenkian and the CCA is based on a shared vision and the desire to establish the best possible criteria for conservation, cataloguing and future access to the archive, in particular through the development of common tools shared by the three institutions, which will allow online access. In the future, they will organize research and exhibition, publishing and educational programmes designed to stimulate interest and discussion, at the national and international level, about the role of architecture in contemporary society.
Suzanne Cotter, director of the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, views this project as an opportunity to strengthen a field of programming for the museum and its collection and archive-based activities, and to promote reflection and debate about architecture in relation to contemporary art and culture. In summer 2016, Serralves Museum plans to present an exhibition dedicated to Álvaro Sizas archive.
List of projects donated by Álvaro Siza to Serralves Museum:
Four dwellings, Matosinhos, 1954-1957 Parish hall and service centre, Matosinhos, 1958-1959 Low-cost housing unit, Herculano Ninharelhos, Matosinhos, 1956 Carneiro de Melo House, Porto, 1957-1959 Swimming pool, Quinta da Conceição estate, Matosinhos, 1958-1965 Luis Rocha Ribeiro House, Maia, project of 1959 and 1960-1962 Lordelo Cooperative, Porto, 1960-1963 Ferreira da Costa House, Matosinhos, 1962-1965 Alves Santos House, Póvoa de Varzim, 1964-1968 Enlargement of the Rocha Ribeiro House, Maia, 1969 Alcino Cardoso House I, Gateira, Moledo do Minho, 1971-1973 Carlos Beires House, Póvoa de Varzim, 1973-1976 Remodelling and staircase of the Calém House, Porto, 1975 Maria Margarida Machado House, Arcozelo, 1979 Recovery of the house and outbuildings of the Quinta da Póvoa estate, Porto, 1985-1984 Luis Figueiredo House, Gondomar, 1984-1994 Carlos Ramos Pavilion, Porto, 1985-1986 Faculty of Architecture, University of Porto, Porto, 1987-1993 Cesar Rodrigues House, Porto, 1987-1996 Remodelling of the Ferreira da Costa House, Matosinhos, 1988-1993 Alcino Cardoso House II, Gateira, Moledo do Minho, 1988-1991 Housing complex and offices in the Avenida da Boavista, Porto, 1990-1998 Remodelling of the Chapel of Serralves Villa, Porto, 1990 Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto, 1991 Recovery of the Costa Braga Building, Matosinhos, 1993-1997 Office Building, Aleixo, Porto, 1993-1997 Children's farm, Serralves Foundation, Porto, 1994 Coffee shop, Serralves Villa, Porto, 1994 Administration building of the Ports of Douro and Leixões, Leça da Palmeira, 1995 Alcino Cardoso House III, Gateira, Moledo do Minho, 1996-1997 Commercial and residential building, Porto, 1998 Porto Subway, São Bento Station, Porto, 1999 Porto 2001 European Capital of Culture, redevelopment of the Avenida D. Afonso Henriques, Porto, 1999 Porto 2001 European Capital of Culture, urban intervention in the Praça da Liberdade, Porto, 1999 Porto 2001 European Capital of Culture, Fonte do Cativo, Porto, 1999 Restoration of Serralves Villa, Porto, 2000 Multipurpose pavilion, Gondomar, 2000-2007 Armanda Passos House, Porto, 2002-2006 Reception and information centre/shop, Serralves Foundation, 2003.