As part of a collateral event for the Venice Biennale this year, the Fondazione Querini Stampalia- whose basement was renovated by Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa in 1959- is exhibiting previously unpublished drawings and portraits by Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza. Once you enter the former Palazzo, be sure to pass by a bookshop carved out by architect Mario Botta and the permeable basement, which was previously rendered unusable by frequent invasion of sea water until Scarpa designed a series of inlets and outlets, with the use of gutters, gulleys and stone steps. The fact that Alvaro Siza recently won the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Biennale- an award Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas won two years ago- makes the exhibition all the more worthwhile to visit, not least because it shows a series of intimate and expressive sketches that take the architect away from the rigid plan and into a “journey without a plan” as Siza explained himself. It is refreshing to see an exhibition capturing the most personal aspects of an architect’s life. In addition to shedding light on his concept of architecture, the exhibition underscores the power of the everyday, from influential trips with his Brazilian uncle, to recent dinner parties with friends and moments “free from the burden of work”. His acute capacity for observation can be seen in the quick lines and pen marks depicting the small details, be it folds in someone’s jeans or the intense facial expression on a sitter’s face. I went away with five postcards in my pocket and a huge desire to go and sketch the city of Venice!
