The Art Library is welcoming the presentation of the book A monumentalidade crítica de Álvaro Siza, one of the results of the research project ‘A Monumentalidade Crítica de Álvaro Siza – Projetos de Renovação Urbana depois da Exposição Internacional de Lisboa de 1998 (Expo’98)’, developed within the framework of DINAMIA’CET-Iscte.

Published by Circo de Ideias and edited by architects Paulo Tormenta Pinto and Ana Tostões, the book chooses the theme of “monumentality” in Álvaro Siza’s work as the basis for a critical discourse on architecture and the role of architects in relation to the contemporary city.

The Portugal Pavilion, designed for Expo’98, is the starting point for this research, presenting itself in its singularity as the centerpiece of a process of urban renewal, with repercussions on the political consciousness of the late 20th century.

In Portugal, the echoes of this policy continued after the Lisbon exhibition, consolidating an urban idea that had been theorized since the late 1980s. The observation of territories over a long period of time and the immersion in architectural culture are invariable presuppositions in Siza’s approach and discursive foundations for “monumentality”.

With photographs by Inês d’Orey, the book includes texts by Alexandra Saraiva, Ana Brandão, Ana Tostões, José António Bandeirinha, José Luís Saldanha, Paulo Tormenta Pinto, Pedro Baía, Pedro Pinto, Raquel Henriques da Silva, and Rui Fernandes Póvoas.

The presentation will be made by the editors, Ana Tostões and Paulo Tormenta Pinto, moderated by architect Jorge Figueira. This will be followed by a lecture by Maria Filomena Molder.

Image: Sketch of the Portugal Pavilion at Expo’98 by Álvaro Siza, 1994-1998