School of Architecture in Porto

A very superficial way of summarizing Portuguese architecture of the 20th century could be reduced to just three names: Távora, Siza Vieira, and Souto Moura. Three generations of architects were interconnected both professionally and personally. Fernando Távora founded the “Escola do Porto” and through his architectural work and pedagogical activities influenced entire generations of architects, among whom were also Siza and Moura. Távora's specific handwriting gave rise to a new current in Portuguese architecture, and his style is still recognizable in many buildings of his successors. Álvaro Siza, on the other hand, built a family house for his mentor, the headquarters of his office, and also a building for his school of architecture in Porto.
The Faculty of Architecture, of which the architect is Álvaro Siza, actually began construction as early as 1985. However, the history of the school dates back to 1980 when it was separated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Porto. Until then, it operated after the model of the 19th century among sculptors, painters, and other artists. The change in the profession of architect led to new needs, which the university in Porto was able to meet better. The new building of the faculty of architecture was to be created on the university campus, and its author was to be a former graduate and simultaneously the most esteemed member of the then teaching staff. The new school moved to the southern terraces on the right bank of the Douro River into one of the beautiful 19th-century villas named Quinta da Povoa. At the opposite end of the site from the villa, Siza planted a two-story studio, which serves current graduates under the name Carlos Ramos pavilion. However, soon the site became too small for the school with five hundred students, and in 1986 a decision was made to expand to the west, where ten new buildings for the faculty's needs grew over the next ten years.
The location of the new site and access to it were very limiting. The favorable southern slope was in fact bordered on three sides by busy roads. Siza divided the site into three zones. The most prominent southern edge consists of four studio towers. The regular rhythm is disrupted by the extended space between the third and fourth towers. Here, Siza allowed only the base of the "missing tower" to be built. Critics claim that he had to tame his ambitious project and by omitting one of the towers, come closer to the character of the surrounding buildings. However, Siza himself justifies it by saying that he disrupted the order and gradation of the towers and opened a view towards the valley.
The northern part of the site is comprised of two elongated blocks (auditorium and library) connected by a semicircular mass (exhibition space), which together create a continuous wall facing the noise from the adjacent highway. Between the northern and southern parts is the school courtyard. One end of the irregular triangular courtyard is cramped between the school pavilions, while the other end opens wide to the stone terraces leading to the garden of Quinta da Povoa. The shape of the school courtyard adopts in an enlarged scale the geometry of the Carlos Ramos pavilion.
The students' studios are placed in the towers, from which there is the most beautiful view of the entire surroundings. The vertical layout allowed for the creation of many studios where students can work in small groups. On one hand, Siza's towers respond to the blunt forms of apartment blocks from the 1950s that create a background for the school, while on the other hand, by using Hejduk's geometry and Loos's facades, he pushes the whole matter further, but certainly does not ironize it.
In contrast to the studio towers filled with windows stand the blind northern facades of the auditorium, exhibition hall, and library. The staff offices no longer have romantic views of the valley and river, but must settle for northern lighting and a view of the highway. Although the form of the buildings twists, their internal arrangement is completely clear. However, Siza did not aim to dictate to people which way they should go. Each function required its own shape, and therefore the result is so intricate and offers many options for direction. Despite their functional predestination, each of the volumes allows for freedom in its use.
Siza was aware while designing that student life does not take place only in studios and lectures but also in the spaces between them. The faculty functions as a small city. Siza made use of all ten buildings and the slope of the terrain to create spatial richness that its users can indulge in while moving throughout the day through various corridors, ramps, or small squares.
Siza's individual buildings can be easily interchangeable for many people. The architect has been using proven structures and materials for decades. However, once a person visits one of his buildings, they experience a spatial adventure and become acquainted with the whole story behind the creation of the house, then they will never confuse it with any other of his works. To anyone who has the opportunity to travel to the Iberian Peninsula, I wholeheartedly recommend Siza's faculty of architecture in Porto as one of the most important buildings of modern Portuguese architecture.