The GT#3 itinerary through the Serralves area highlights the close relationship between Álvaro Siza and the cultural Foundation, dating back to the early 1990s and continuing to the present, with Siza´s response to the challenge of integrating the scale of public buildings into a residential setting.

The route includes visits to the Museum of Contemporary Art (1991-1999) with its new extension (2018-2023), to the House of the Cinema (2019-2021), and to the refurbished Villa and Gardens. This itinerary also highlights the new layout of Marechal Gomes da Costa Avenue, featuring its unexpected MetroBus stops, recently designed by Álvaro Siza (2024). Once again, we are faced with a unique response that evokes the architect’s social responsibility to go beyond the functional brief. Álvaro Siza depicts a “bus stop” in its broadest terms, conceiving a place embedded in the avenue's urban structure, where we can catch public transport, going beyond the temporary shelter or iconic furniture piece.

Porto Team thanks Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art and Casa do Cinema Manoel de Oliveira for supporting GT#3. 

On June 8, 2025, the UpGranT Team Meeting took place in one of Casa do Cinema Manoel de Oliveira's rooms, facing the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art Park.

The Porto Team thanks the Casa do Cinema Manuel de Oliveira and the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art for supporting Grand Tour #3.

The preparation for the Grand Tour to Porto included a booklet, in a low-cost format, formated for travel.

The booklet comprised a general and detailed programme of the tour, a short profile of the architects to be visited, and information on each building. This information included the author's identification, location, and reference dates, but the materials available vary from building to building, resulting in a selection of images that complete the in situ visit. 

Grand Tour #3: Serralves area itinerary

Museum of Contemporary Art by Álvaro Siza

Grand Tour #3: Territorial itinerary

Braga Municipal Stadium by Eduardo Souto de Moura (Braga, 2000-2003)

Grand Tour #3: City centre itinerary

Time Out Market by Eduardo Souto de Moura (2018-2024)

On June 8, 2025, GT#3 participants were welcomed in Casa do Cinema Manoel de Oliveira by its director.

Dr. António Preto conducted a staff training session by presenting the exhibition "Keeping Tale of Current Times: Jean-Luc Godard – Visual Work" and the building of the Grand Tourist Álvaro Siza.

Porto Team thanks Dr. António Preto.

Grand Tour #3: City centre itninerary

Casa da Música Metro Station by Eduardo Souto de Moura (1997-2004)

Grand Tour #3: neighbourhood itinerary

Matosinhos Municipality by Alcino Soutinho (Matosinhos, 1981-1989)

Within the Territorial Itinerary, the Grand Tour #3 participants met Diogo Veiga, Nuno Melo Sousa colaborator for a special visit to the Corcet Headquarters. 

Porto Team thanks Nuno Melo Sousa and Diogo Veiga for their support to GT#3.

Grand Tour #3: city centre itinerary

Tower of the 24, by Fernando Távora (1995-2003) 

Through Porto's city centre and its expanded contours, the GT#3 Porto city centre itinerary brings together more recent works from the last years by Fernando Távora, Álvaro Siza, Eduardo Souto de Moura, Cristina Guedes, Francisco Vieira de Campos, and Nuno Brandão Costa.

It includes: Casa da Música Metro Station by Eduardo Souto de Moura (1997-2004); Bouça Housing Complex by Álvaro Siza (1973-1977 / 2000-2006); Porto Intermodal Terminal by Nuno Brandão Costa, (2016-2021); Trindade Metro Station, by Eduardo Souto de Moura (1997-2004); Aliados Avenue Public Space, co-authored by Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura; the Time Out Market by Eduardo Souto de Moura (2018-2024); the Tower of the 24, by Fernando Távora (1995-2003) and the Gaia Cable Car Stations, by Cristina Guedes and Francisco Vieira de Campos (2011-2012). It could be interesting to amplify this itinerary by the inclusion of two more works on the enlarged contour of the city centre: the Faculty of Economics by Alfredo Viana de Lima (1961-1974) and the I3S Porto Institute for Research and Innovation in Health by João Pedro Serôdio and Isabel Furtado (2009-2015), both University of Porto.

In terms of organisation, the Grand Tour comprises at least 12 participants for 4 days, touring Porto and Northern Portugal through selected architects and exemplary buildings, scattered across locations and time.

The Porto Grand Tour is structured into four main itineraries of different spatial scope and rhythms, set in a clear pendular sequence centred on Porto, in open dialogue with territorial and neighbouring built landscapes: a Porto city centre UNESCO itinerary walk through that considers also the city’s relation to the Douro River and its topographic waterfront, implying a sense of scale, character and atmosphere in dialogue with Vila Nova de Gaia; a Territorial itinerary to the North of Portugal, with Braga, Marco de Canaveses, Penafiel and Santo Tirso; a Porto Neighbourhood itinerary, with Matosinhos, Leça da Palmeira and Leça do Balio and an Urban Polarity itinerary through the Boavista axis and Serralves area. Each itinerary is designed based on key architectural works, bringing together distinct authors and their architectural expressions.

Grand Tour #3: city centre itinerary

Bouça Housing Complex by Álvaro Siza (1973-1977 / 2000-2006)

Grand Tour #3: territorial itinerary

Santa Maria Church and Parish Centre, by Álvaro Siza (Marco de Canaveses, 1989-2005)

Grand Tour #3: Neighbourhood itinerary

Quinta da Conceição Municipal Park and Tennis Pavilion by Fernando Távora (Leça da Palmeira, 1956-1960)

Within a radius of no more than 65 km from Porto, the GT#3 Territorial Itinerary focused on a distinctive interpretative meaning of place, presence and language, featuring works by Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura, individually and in co-authorship, as well as a work by Nuno Melo Sousa, all completed in the last 25 years.

It includes visits to: Corcet Headquarters, by Nuno Melo Sousa (Penafiel, 2021-2024); Santa Maria Church and Parish Centre, by Álvaro Siza (Marco de Canaveses, 1989-2005); Braga Municipal Stadium and Carandá Cultural Market by Eduardo Souto de Moura (Braga, 2000-2003, 1980-2001); and the Abade Pedrosa Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Sculpture, a shared work between Siza and Souto de Moura (Santo Tirso, 2010-2015).

Porto Team thanks the Abade Pedrosa Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Sculpture for supporting GT#3 - Territorial Itinerary. Porto Team also thanks Arch. Diogo Veiga, Nuno Melo Sousa colaborator, for the visit to Corcet Headquarters.

Grand Tour #3: Territorial itinerary

Abade Pedrosa Museum and Museum of Contemporary Sculpture, by Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura (Santo Tirso, 2010-2015)

In a radius of no more than 18 km from Porto, the GT#3 Neighbourhood Itinerary begins with a set of early and paradigmatic works by Álvaro Siza, which also address Fernando Távora´s practice, and ends with one of his most recent works. Among them, this route proposes a visit to works by Alcino Soutinho and João Álvaro Rocha, both representative of significant periods in each architect's body of work. 

This itinerary includes: Boa Nova Tea House (Leça da Palmeira, 1957-1970) and Leça da Palmeira Swimming Pool (Leça da Palmeira, 1959-1973 / 2019-2021), both by Álvaro Siza and located in his recently designed Leça da Palmeira Promenade; Quinta da Conceição Municipal Park and Tennis Pavilion by Fernando Távora and Quinta da Conceição swimming pool by Álvaro Siza (Leça da Palmeira, 1956-1960 / 1961-1966); Matosinhos Municipality by Alcino Soutinho (Matosinhos, 1981-1989); Seara Social Housing ensemble, by João Álvaro Rocha (Matosinhos, 1995-2004); Open Sculpture and Leça do Balio Monastery refurbishment, by Álvaro Siza (Leça do Balio, 2018-2024).

Porto Team thanks Casa da Arquitectura - Portuguese Centre for Architecture, Matosinhos Municipality and Livraria Lello Foundation for supporting GT#3 - Neighbourhood Itinerary. 

At the beggining of the GT#3 and the IPL (Intensive Programme for Learners), a pin and a tote bag, together with the dedicated flyers, were offered to all the participants (professors and students) to identify the activity and to be used during all the itineraries and to be taken home.

Grand Tour #3: Neighbourhood itinerary

Open Sculpture and Leça do Balio Monastery refurbishment, by Álvaro Siza (Leça do Balio, 2018-2024).

10 architects + 10 buildings. The matrix maps the journeys undertaken by Grand Tourists and examines the architectural works they commissioned or constructed in response to the cultural, architectural, and spatial influences encountered throughout their travels.

Grand Tour #3: Territorial itinerary

Corcet Headquarters, by Nuno Melo Sousa (Penafiel, 2021-2024)

Grand Tour #3: neighbourhood itinerary

Leça da Palmeira Swimming Pool by Álvaro Siza (Leça da Palmeira, 1959-1973 / 2019-2021)

Within the Porto city centre itinerary, Grand Tour #3 met Nuno Reis Pereira for a visit to the interior of an apartment in the Bouça Housing Complex, recently refurbish according the original project of Álvaro Siza. 

Porto Team thanks Nuno Reis Pereira. 

Grand Tour #3: neighbourhood itinerary

Seara Social Housing ensemble, by João Álvaro Rocha (Matosinhos, 1995-2004)

Grand Tour #3: City centre itinerary

Cancela Velha Multifamily Housing by Alfredo Viana de Lima (Porto, 1955-1962)

Grand Tour #3: City centre itinerary

Trindade Metro Station, by Eduardo Souto de Moura (1997-2004)

Grand Tour #3: City centre itinerary

Gaia Cable Car Stations by Cristina Guedes and Francisco Vieira de Campos (2011-2012)

On June 5, 2025, the participants of the Grand Tour #3 were welcomed in FAUP's Main Hall for the first Team Meeting in Porto.

Grand Tour #3: city centre itinerary

Porto Intermodal Terminal by Nuno Brandão Costa (2016-2021)