Álvaro Siza - Royal Gold Medal 2009
Álvaro Siza Vieira was presented yesterday by her Majesty the Queen, at a private audience at Buckingham Palace, the Royal Gold Medal, which will be officially delivered in a ceremony at the
Royal Institute of British Architect, for his contribution in the international architecture and in recognition of a lifetime's work.
"In Siza’s buildings, perhaps like no others, it is the relationships between the elements of the architecture that is given primacy rather than the shape or texture of the elements themselves. This is an architecture in which an economy of expressive means is combined with an abundance of spatial revelation".
The daily British newspaper
The Guardian also commends the work of the Portuguese architect, emphasizing his "poetic and
basic qualities" and that "his buildings, though clearly modern, seem to come naturally to the places where they are erected, as if the landscape that subtly adorns was incomplete without them".
In a comment given to the Lusa agency, the architect Norman Foster expressed "personal satisfaction" for the tribute, refering that "his architecture has the power to move us deeply" and "thanks to his great economy of line in his projects and the subtle mastery of the form, his work has the ability of liven us ".
Another British architect, Pierre d'Avoine, said "it is an injustice Siza Vieira has not been honored with this award earlier" because "Siza is a great architect and an inspiration for at least two generations of architects in the UK".
Siza Vieira considered it "an honor" to receive this distinction that he particularly dedicates to his family.
in RIBA - Copyright: PA Pictures
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