Neighbourhood: Where Álvaro meets Aldo edited by Nuno Grande, Roberto Cremascoli
Hatje Cantz, 2017
Paperback, 208 pages

Of the many countries that participate in the Venice Architecture Biennale, Portugal is one of those that does not have a home in the Giardini. As such, it ventures out into the city for a venue ? not necessarily a bad thing, since it spreads out the exhibition beyond the confines of the Giardini and Arsenale and further embeds the exhibition in the city. In 2016, Portugal's contribution to the Biennale was located on Giudecca, the long island that, outside of Palladio's Il Redentore, doesn't see as many tourists as the rest of Venice. Curators Nuno Grande and Roberto Cremascoli did this for a good reason though: they wanted to draw attention to an unfinished work by Alvaro Siza, Portugal's most famous modern architect.
[Exhibition at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale | Photo: John Hill]

Neighbourhood: Where Alvaro meets Aldo occupied a portion (photo above) of Siza's competition-winning project for a residential development (the renovation of Campo di Marte) on Giudecca. Siza broke down the project into four parts and brought in three other architects (Carlo Aymonino, Rafael Moneo, and Aldo Rossi) to design other pieces. This happened in 1985, but only the designs of the two Italian architects were realized, making the meeting of Alvaro and Aldo, who died in 1997, a somewhat sad one. Well, not entirely, since the actions of Grande and...