黑洞社区

The global credit crunch could see the 鈥渆nd of consumerism鈥� in architecture, according to 脕lvaro Siza, who became the 159th recipient of the RIBA royal gold medal at the institution鈥檚 annual ceremony last night.

In an interview with 黑洞社区, the Portugese architect said the downturn could improve the quality of architecture. He said: 鈥淓verything is reflected in architecture. There is the possibility that a kind of consumerism in architecture will be ended.鈥�

Siza鈥檚 work, which includes Portuguese buildings such as the Boa Nova restaurant in Le莽a and the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art in Porto, might be described as experimental modernism. It is this kind of austerity that he predicts will hold sway in the new economic climate.

鈥淚f you look at buildings in Dubai, they reflect money and power,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think that from this crisis will emerge an architecture that is not reliant on things that are not needed.鈥�

Although Siza is cited as an influence by British architects such as David Adjaye and David Chipperfield, he has built nothing here apart from a pavilion at the Serpentine gallery in Hyde Park. He put this down to a reluctance to enter competitions, but claimed that his style was not always popular with clients.

He said: 鈥淲e cannot blame anyone for it. If you think how difficult it was for Le Corbusier to work, he had to go to India, to Switzerland, to Brazil 鈥︹��