Awards Ceremony - SPACESPOT

GOLD MEDAL 2011:Àlvaro Siza Vieira,PortugalBorn in 25 June 1933 in Matosinhos, Portugal, hestudied architecture at the University of Porto, Schoolof Architecture. He opened his own atelier in Porto in1954, designing smaller works and collaborating withFernando Tavora.He has taught at the University of Porto since 1966and also at Harvard, USA, the Ecole Poytechnique ofLausanne, Switzerland and Los Andes University Bogota,Colombia. His works are internationally renowned fortheir coherence, clarity, and what Siza calls simplism ‐ aquality that recognizes the complexity andcontradictions of a project without trying to imposeartificial control over them.He was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in1992 and the Royal Gold Medal of the RIBA in 2009.33GOLD MEDAL 2011:Àlvaro Siza Vieira,PortugalHe defies categorisation. Each building isdifferent yet is recognisable.His architecture cannot be duplicated but isa model for young architects. He has neversuccumbed to facility or fashion. As “thearchitect“ of the last quarter of the 20 thcentury his work continues into the 21 st ,constantly pushing forward the level of thechallenges facing the profession.34Boa Nova Tea House, Porto, Portugal , 1958c. Fernando Guerra (free)