EB 1- Álvaro Siza works

The first issue of En Blanco is devoted to the architecture of Álvaro Siza and, more specifically, to his recent exploration of white concrete as an architectural material. Through the analysis of four significant works —the Municipal Library of Viana do Castelo, the sports facility in Cornellà de Llobregat, the Iberê Camargo Museum in Porto Alegre and the High Performance Centre and hotel in Panticosa— the publication proposes a reading of the Portuguese architect’s work from the perspective of materiality and construction.

Álvaro Siza is one of the architects who has most precisely explored the possibilities of concrete in contemporary architecture. Since his early works, such as the Boa Nova Tea House or the Leça da Palmeira swimming pools, concrete has appeared as a material capable of establishing a powerful relationship between architecture, landscape and construction. In the more recent projects gathered in this issue, the architect enters a new phase in which white concrete becomes a central material, enabling continuous forms, precise surfaces and spaces of great spatial intensity.

The issue opens with an essay by Ana Tostões that examines the constant spirit of experimentation present in Siza’s work, from structural research to his deep engagement with place and construction. This is followed by an interview with the architect himself, in which he reflects on the evolution of his practice and on the role that concrete has played throughout his career.

Texts by Ricardo Merí de la Maza and Fran Silvestre complete this critical perspective, situating these works within the broader context of contemporary architecture and analysing their ability to generate complex spatial experiences from an apparently simple formal language. Detailed graphic and technical documentation of the projects allows the reader to understand the design processes and construction solutions behind these buildings.

Beyond presenting four recent works by one of the masters of contemporary architecture, this first issue of En Blanco inaugurates an editorial line devoted to the study of exposed concrete as an architectural material. Through projects, essays and technical documentation, the magazine opens a field of research into the formal, constructive and expressive possibilities of a material that continues to expand the horizons of architecture.