No results
Corner, Block, Neighbourhood, Cities: Álvaro Siza in Berlin and The Hague. Installation view, 2015
Corner, Block, Neighbourhood, Cities: Álvaro Siza in Berlin and The Hague. Installation view, 2015
Corner, Block, Neighbourhood, Cities: Álvaro Siza in Berlin and The Hague. Installation view, 2015
Corner, Block, Neighbourhood, Cities: Álvaro Siza in Berlin and The Hague. Installation view, 2015
Corner, Block, Neighbourhood, Cities: Álvaro Siza in Berlin and The Hague. Installation view, 2015
Wohnhaus Schlesisches Tor—also known as Bonjour Tristesse—in Berlin and Punt en Komma in The Hague are Álvaro Siza’s first built works outside his native Portugal. The two projects resemble one another in size, scale, program, and ambition: both were built in the 1980s, both are results of a distinct attitude towards the city, and both were social housing projects developed to accommodate immigrant communities through participatory design processes. Yet they are also remarkably different. They present local solutions to global questions about the reconstruction and densification of urban centres, reflecting and reviving the specific character of their respective locations, Berlin’s Kreuzberg and the Schilderswijk in The Hague.
In juxtaposing the two projects, the exhibition points to fundamental attributes and interests of Siza’s work—engagement and estrangement, the universal and the vernacular, the specificity of the generic and the monumentality of the ordinary. The exhibition also offers a first glance into Siza’s architectural archive, a large part of which he donated to the CCA in 2014 as part of a wider cooperation agreement with Fundação de Serralves in Porto and the Fundação Gulbenkian in Lisbon.
Curator: Eszter Steierhoffer, CCA
Graphic design: Sean Yendrys, New York / Montréal
Selected objects: Bonjour Tristesse, Berlin
Giovanni Chiaramonte, photographer. Bonjour Tristesse, Berlin, 1984
Álvaro Siza. Sketches of existing city fabric and city block interiors, Berlin, c. 1980. ARCH274279
Álvaro Siza. Sketches showing programmatic arrangement of “Block 121” city block, Berlin, c. 1980. ARCH274276
Álvaro Siza. Plan and sections of “Block 121” city block indicating distribution of program, Berlin, c. 1980. ARCH274280
Álvaro Siza. Sketches of preliminary concept for ground-level shops with connection detail, Bonjour Tristesse, Berlin, August 1981 (notebook 89). ARCH277204
Giovanni Chiaramonte, photographer. Bonjour Tristesse, Berlin, 1984
Álvaro Siza. Elevation of southeast facade with sketches, Bonjour Tristesse, c. 1980. ARCH274284
Álvaro Siza. Sketch of participants in a meeting, Berlin, May 1984 (notebook 110). ARCH277208
Selected objects: Punt en Komma, The Hague
Alessandra Chemollo, photographer. Punt en Komma, The Hague, 1998
Álvaro Siza. Sketches of housing blocks and building corners, Punt en Komma, c. 1985. ARCH274287
Álvaro Siza. Sketch of neighbourhood block structure with notes on project brief, Punt en Komma, c. 1985. ARCH274288
Álvaro Siza. Axonometric drawing of proposed design for “Deelgebied 5” area, including Punt en Komma housing blocks, The Hague, c. 1985. ARCH274278
Peter de Ruig, photographer. Punt en Komma, The Hague, 1988
Álvaro Siza. Plans, elevations and sections of de Punt and Komma buildings, April 1987. ARCH274290
Álvaro Siza. Axonometric drawings of “Haagse Portiek” entrance showing arrangement of staircases leading to individual apartments, Punt en Komma, c. 1985. ARCH274291
Peter de Ruig, photographer. Punt en Komma, The Hague, 1988
Lecture by Álvaro Siza
Related events
Related articles
You can search for everything here—our exhibitions, events, collection, articles, and bookstore. If you have any questions, please email us at publications@cca.qc.ca.
Sign up to get news from us
Thank you for signing up. You'll begin to receive emails from us shortly.
We’re not able to update your preferences at the moment. Please try again later.
You’ve already subscribed with this email address. If you’d like to subscribe with another, please try again.
This email was permanently deleted from our database. If you’d like to resubscribe with this email, please contact us
Please complete the form below to buy:
[Title of the book, authors]
ISBN: [ISBN of the book]
Price [Price of book]
Thank you for placing an order. We will contact you shortly.
We’re not able to process your request at the moment. Please try again later.
Your folder is empty.
