— 01 EDUARDO SOUTO MOURA

“This is a collection of interviews by architect Nuno Lacerda Lopes. They are conversations between architects of the School of Oporto where the process of building an ideal of architecture, profession, society and school is sought, based on a personal and open reflection and even clarify the theoretical and practical concerns as well as the circumstances that underlie Portuguese architecture today”.

Excerpt

“First of all, I would like to ask what was your education like? What were your great ideals in terms of architecture and what were your great influences…?

My first degree was in Fine Arts. I give it more and more importance, because at the time there were practically no classes, they were experiences. We worked abroad, we did some meetings and some exercises that pedagogically were not very classical. More and more, as I get older and older, I recognise that there were situations of those times that marked me.

For example, the classes of a professor of mine, that already died, who was not a great communicator and on top of that it was early in the morning (at eight thirty) and we would go there full of sleep. But, theoretically speaking, he was the first person, that I remember, in the period of 1972, to talk to me about Rossi. He presented texts about the city and about history, but for us history was not a very important thing. Then, in the fourth year, I entered Siza’s office, where I stayed and never left. I still work with him, we do some projects together. He was the most representative and outstanding figure. In terms of architects in history, Mies Van der Rohe, and in terms of current architects, must be Herzog”.