“Architecture between nature and artifice” is the theme that Alvaro Siza addressed today during the first meeting of Markitecture - Value in Architecture, and event organised at Cersaie by BolognaFiere in cooperation with Assopiastrelle and in partnership with the Emilia-Romagna region.
Alvaro Siza’s works are linked to rationalism by a subtle thread, that of social value and the democratisation of architecture.
Having grown up in the Portugal of Salazar, these are values that Alvaro Siza feels deeply and which have led him to oppose monumentalism in favour of an architecture capable of expressing social alternatives.
For this great architect, the priority is to solve the problems of those who live in the homes that he designs. In other words, Siza teaches us that architecture is not a matter of style, grand gestures or eternal durability of the work, but instead a concrete adaptation to reality.
As the eminent architecture and design critic François Burkhardt explained in his presentation, “Alvaro Siza does not seek to break away from the history or the location where he builds, but prefers to adapt to it, favouring local materials and customs.”
At this exhibition of four projects presented by Siza himself, we can gain an appreciation of the architect’s profound respect for geographical location, which he implements with concrete constructions free of excessive abstractions or flights of fancy, and in which we can recognise a deep love of materials, including ceramic.
The meeting with Alvaro Siza, one of the great masters of world architecture, further underlines the role of Markitecture and Cersaie as key appointments with the world of design and building.
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Alvaro Siza Vieira
François Burkhardt
Gillo Dorfles
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