The pre-act.
In a small auditorium on the third floor of the Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, a previous press conference to which I have been invited began, with Prussian punctuality, at 18:30h.
When I entered, a minute later, Siza had already begun a small presentation and he was emphasizing the importance of drawings in the process of constructing the projects, "a wonderful and fast instrument". He thanked both Juan and Carlos for the "extraordinary" realization of the book and he commented, laughing, especially because it has not cost for him.
After a quick presentation Siza began answering a question of Anatxu Zabalbeascoa to explain the reason of the selection of only 6 works for the book. Siza was one by one explaining his motives: Boa Nova because it was his first public work; the pools for the importance of his intervention in the landscape; Da Malagueira for its social importance, the Faculty of Architecture of Oporto for his relation as professor; the CGAC of Santiago de Compostela for being his first museum and the Church of Marco Canaveses for his personal memories.
Siza was generous in the explanations, he was delighted and eager to talk. So I took the opportunity to ask. I had some prepared questions that were obviously impossible to ask in such a short time so I decided to comment them up loud so that Zabalbeascoa, who would be responsible for leading the round table later, could pick some of them such as why he had not chosen any of the works of the last twenty years? (Canaveses was the latest and it was completed in 1996).
Some time before I had listened again to Siza singing in a video and I decided to refuse the rest of what I had prepared and asked for something less obvious for the act and at the some time I think more natural to know the personage:
- I have just listened again you humming the Beatles song "When I'm 64" in the video of Fernando Guerra and I wonder, are you a happy man? and in that sense, what is the women influence in your architecture?
As I formulated the question Siza laughed with complicity. About women he was frugal but clear, "women obviously, of course, have been an important factor and influence in all aspects of my life" ,said Siza and in relation to the first question, the answer was based on recognizing that not everything has been easy, that of 1,500 projects only 200 had been constructed but that he has managed to make this bad times blurred over time, bad things fell and only the good ones remained.
Some more questions and we moved to the room where the round table was held. On the way to the lift one of those questions that I could not make, when I met Juan Rodriguez: Why all photographs in black and white?
Why not? Juan answered and, why all drawings carefully published in color? to what Juan said "I'll be honest, because actually it is a technique that I feel more comfortable with and that I have been controlling more and better over time".
Chronicle of the event.-
The event, really crowded with attendands, and characterized by the ostentation the institution gives to its facilities, began with a presentation of gratitude by the authors. Afterwards, they got up to a round table formed from left to right by: David Cohn, Juhani Pallasma, Álvaro Siza, Javier Navarro, Rafael Moneo, Eduardo Souto de Moura and on the right end of the table, Anatxu Zabalbeascoa.
I must point out that the person in charge of chairing the table did not disappoint at all. I had already heard from Anatxu (and I also had, obviously, read his writings in El País for years) in the presentation of a book in Alicante (Spain) where we had met as guests.
- Anatxu started the conference by throwing the question that had remained unanswered in the press conference: "Why had only six buildings been chosen, none of them from this century, and whether they considered if there was some other building they would have included ".
Souto guessed that the reason for that was that, probably, the work of Siza does not present yet enough historical distance. Moneo, although he understood the selection that had been done, recalled that he would have also included the building of San Salvador de Bahía. Pallasma spoke about the path Siza had taken along his complete career, which was difficult to separate, and his relationship with Alvar Aalto. Cohn marked that he feels a great impression with any of Siza’s building, but that the one which had impressed him the most was Quinta de San Ovidio.
- Anatxu, taking advantage of the reflexion Pallasma had made in the first round about what is the truth in Architecture, relaunched it as a general question.
Souto said that beauty is not the consequence of the truth but that truth appears when people remain content. Moneo spoke of Siza’s career addressing its continuation, against the fragmentation other architects present along their professional path, lacking a common language. Pallasma responded by saying that it is the ability to imagine what do people feel and how dangerous it is to speak of an absolute truth. David Cohn insisted on this idea, clarifying that the truth consists actually in finding ways to empathy, that the dimension of truth is in constant bargaining, and that the community therefore needs to achieve agreements constantly to point at the concept.
- Zabalbeascoa continued asking why does social housing remains as an unresolved question among architects.
Souto, who was the friendliest speaker of the night and the one with a more relaxed and informal speech, made a reflection on the importance of housing, which has existed as an architectural typology for seven thousand years. He also remembered how Siza once remarked "astronauts enjoy very much coming back home". Moneo also responded saying that architects should be restricted as the definers of life forms in front of such permanence.
- The real Anatxu appeared naturally on the next question, when she cleverly asked if "architects thought during the design process about how buildings will be cleaned."
At that time Moneo tried to change the meaning of the question by centering on the artistic and plastic vocation which joined in the rationality of Siza, kind of eluding discussion topics as mundane as cleaning. Anatxu then again picked the thread of the debate by saying that since the previous question had not raised enough interest among the guests, she would continue talking about higher matters and asked about the personal mark architects can leave in their buildings.
The round table continued with different interventions. The public was given the floor and made several questions. Siza responded by saying that he was an insecure architect and that is something he thanked when designing, as it justified the realization of many drawings in each project to eliminate the doubts he may have.
Moneo was the one who spoke to close the event. When it seemed that the act was coming to its end, Anatxu saw that there was still enough time left to give the floor to the last two public questions: The first of the interventions asked what advice would Siza give to the new architects, to which he responded by explaining that he could not give it, since the general conditions that existed when he was young were radically different to the current ones. Anatxu lastly asked Siza on behalf of the foundation to end the discussion discussing any topic he wanted. Siza then gave closure to the act with a friendly thanks to all the authors and collaborators of the book.
Sizax Siza.
Autores.- Juan Rodríguez y Carlos Seoane. The book also includes texts of homage, specifically made for its publication, by Eduardo Souto de Moura, Kenneth Frampton, Juhani Pallasma and David Cohn.
Editor.- Fundación Arquía.
Cover.- Soft cover.
Number of pages.- 418 pp. CMYK.
Language.- Spanish.
