O Primeiro Siza is a documentary about the Four Houses, the first built work of Álvaro Siza (Matosinhos, Portugal, 1933), who designed while still a student. It is a reflection on architecture’s impact on people’s lives. Directed by Sara Nunes, the film revolves around a reencounter, sixty years later, between Siza – recipient of the 1992 Pritzker Prize – and Fernando Neto, his first client and the owner of one of the houses built in Matosinhos.

The reunion of architect and client is an opportunity to revisit what marked the start of one of the most influential trajectories of contemporary architecture. Through conversations with Siza himself, with the residents of the houses, and with the historian and critic Francesco Dal Co, along with recent photographs and period images from archives, the documentary shows how architecture and the lives of its inhabitants intertwine and evolve over time.

The documentary developed from an original concept by João Rapagão and Sara Nunes, and was produced by Building Pictures. O Primeiro Siza can be viewed on the cultural platform CaixaForum+ in Portugal and Spain, and the trailer is available on the website of Building Pictures.