Portugal’s Communist Housing Estate by Álvaro Siza

Short Documentary: When a Communist authority came to power in the Portuguese city of Évora, the architect Álvaro Siza began work on a low rise, low budget development of social housing for over 1,200 families. Despite limited resources and a complex site, the resulting scheme blends poetic references to Évora’s Roman origins with pragmatism and flexibility. Shot on location in Portugal, this short documentary continues the AR’s new series of filmed building critiques. The film accompanies and amplifies Ellis Woodman’s Revisit essay on the same topic in this month’s issue (p79).