Archinect - News

Álvaro Siza completes sculptural extension to Porto monastery

2024-05-09T17:24:00-04:00

Pritzker Prize-winning architect Álvaro Siza has completed an extension to the Monastery of Leça do Balio outside Porto, Portugal.

The recently renovated monastery will now serve as the headquarters for the Livraria Lello Foundation, offering a space for “exhibitions that will champion literacy and critical thinking.”

Photo: Alexandre Delmar

Located near Siza’s hometown of Matosinhos, the scheme draws on the architect’s early childhood dreams of being a sculptor. Among the contributions by Siza to the extension is a stand-alone sculpture ‘Viandante’ which acts as a “poetic tribute to the pilgrim’s journey, offering a serene space for visitors to reflect and forge deeper connections.”

Photo: Alexandre Delmar

The extension, due to open on June 22, follows weeks after Siza's self-named Serralves Museum expansion in Porto opened to the public. The 45,000-square-foot expansion is the fifth building designed by Siza for the Serralves Foundation after the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Ar...

Álvaro Siza's self-named Serralves Museum expansion opens in Portugal

2024-02-19T12:28:00-05:00

The Serralves Foundation in Porto, Portugal, has shared photos of its recently inaugurated new wing designed by and named for the country’s beloved Pritzker Prize-winning architect, Álvaro Siza.

The 45,000-square-foot expansion is the fifth building designed by Siza for the foundation after the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art (1999), Manoel de Oliveira Cinema House (2019), Gardeners’ House (2021), and the restored Serralves Art Déco Villa (2021).

"With a wing dedicated to the Permanent Collection and Architecture, the Serralves Museum is more than ever an institution where the present is fully activated and where the recent past is settled and decanted. It allows the institution to fully take responsibility for its history and legacy, as well as for its role as the leading institution in Portugal dedicated to the history and the present of contemporary art and culture," Director Philippe Vergne stated.

Photo: FG+SG

The new wing was realized in Serralves Park to the western side...

BIG reveals designs for a new Farfetch hillside corporate headquarters in Porto

2021-09-28T14:06:00-04:00

A futuristic new headquarters for one of Portugal’s hottest companies will form the basis of an innovative hillside “smart valley” in the country’s Porto region according to renderings unveiled today by BIG.

Image courtesy BIG

Fashion retailer Farfetch will serve as the anchor in the Danish studio’s expansive new FUSE VALLEY development overlooking the Leça River in the town of Matosinhos.

Image courtesy BIG

From end to end, the nearly two-million-square-foot development creates an elongated and art-filled commercial village ideal for corporate and community use alike.

Image courtesy BIG

Twelve tailor-made individual buildings connect through a winding program of landscaped terraces that feature plazas, parks, and public courtyards along a central axis road. Each building represents a different aspect of Farfetch’s core business and will incorporate design elements like open attic mezzanines and biophilic interventions to create an immersive natural working environment for all of the...

Portugal apartment renovation by Mass Lab features a blue modular design

2018-09-14T15:13:00-04:00

Mass Lab has renovated Pinheiro Manso Apartment, located in the center of Porto, Portugal, for an integrated flow of space. The dwelling was previously a disconnected 2 floor typology with small, closed off rooms seeing little sunlight.

Pinheiro Manso Apartment by Mass Lab, located in Porto, Portugal. Image: Mass Lab.

The newly remodeled space features blue wood panelling on the inside and a connected design to the outdoor courtyard. A modular wall contains the different functions of bathrooms, cabinetry, kitchen, and eating area.

Pinheiro Manso Apartment by Mass Lab, located in Porto, Portugal. Image: Mass Lab.

The bedrooms are located on the first floor allowing the basement to used as a social space. A blue wooden staircase was inserted to connect the two floors and serve as a modular wall on the ground floor.

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A minimalist vintage clothing store by Gustavo Guimarães pops up in Porto

2017-11-30T19:58:00-05:00

Portuguese vintage clothing label Mão Esquerda Vintage has a new shop nestled in the 19-square-meter ground floor of a historic building in Porto. Refurbished by Atelier Gustavo Guimarães, the intimate space shows off trendy minimalist aesthetics fused with the “raw, traditional vibe” of Porto.

Working with the irregularities of the slender space, the Gustavo Guimarães team's objective was to create a flexible design that can display a large, eclectic collection of vintage clothes.

Photo: Nelson Garrido.

The resulting design focuses on two main curved elements, the architects describe. Complemented by the existing textured marmorite flooring of the building, “the first [element] is a gridded floor-to-ceiling wall made of oak that serves as a partition and also allows for a storage area behind. The second is a two-level iron hanging rail that allows the shop to change its configuration based on the items on display.” The store also features a refurbished counter that once belonged to...

Álvaro Siza donates his architectural archives to institutions in Portugal and Canada

2014-07-24T18:53:00-04:00

Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza this week announced to donate his architectural archive to public architectural institutions in Portugal and Canada. The decision was motivated by Siza's desire of fostering discussion and dialogue in a research-oriented context.

One part of the archive will be donated to the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) in Montreal, and the other part will be given to two Portuguese institutions, the Fundação Gulbenkian in Lisbon and the Fundação de Serralves in Porto.

“The CCA is thrilled to accept this generous donation," remarked CCA Director Mirko Zardini. "I have known Álvaro Siza and followed his work closely for several decades. His architecture escapes easy classification, but always offers a lesson – a new way of seeing the world around us. His buildings have a distinct character and particular relationship to their urban or natural settings, always born from the desire to participate in the world. Siza’s drawings and sketches reflect his ability to...

Archinect - News

Álvaro Siza completes sculptural extension to Porto monastery

Álvaro Siza's self-named Serralves Museum expansion opens in Portugal

BIG reveals designs for a new Farfetch​ hillside corporate headquarters in Porto

Portugal apartment renovation by Mass Lab features a blue modular design

A minimalist vintage clothing store by Gustavo Guimarães pops up in Porto

Álvaro Siza donates his architectural archives to institutions in Portugal and Canada

BIG reveals designs for a new Farfetch hillside corporate headquarters in Porto