Building methods in the architecture of Álvaro Siza

In the poetics of Álvaro Siza, the enriching experience of making architecture on site has always been very important; but even though his work has been widely recognized, published and discussed, little is known about the construction strategies employed. This paper reviews Siza's use of reinforced-concrete wall construction to create, through a process of subtraction and a search for the essential, building forms of a very particular kind.