Debating Modern Architecture. A brief account of the Iberian Peninsula circa 1967

Abstract

In the 1960s, a group of Portuguese and Spanish architects began to meet on a regular basis. An informal structure based on a network of close contacts, not unlike the Team 10, this group met to discuss architectural theory and practice, to visit buildings, and also - or above all - to socialize and share ideas and experiences. Despite the casual nature of most of these meetings, they had considerable impact in the evolution of Portuguese architecture, leading to a series of encounters with prominent European architects and the publication of several articles in international journals, as the result of a strategy of editorial exchange promoted by some of the meetings' participants. Concurrently, a number of architects and critics were invested in finding new tools and methods for thinking about architecture, and especially for debating and critiquing architecture. The present text provides an introduction to this context and explores the reciprocal influence that Spanish and Portuguese architects exerted on each other's work, by focusing on the moment when two important milestones concur: the Iberian meeting taking place in Portugal, promoted by Nuno Portas, and the publication of a critical analysis of Álvaro Siza's early works, written by Pedro Vieira de Almeida.