Fernando Távora and the Journey into the Constants as the Foundation of the Project (1950-1960)

The text investigates the importance of travel in architect Távora’s design process, highlighting how his travels influenced his architectural projects and how the structure of his design is based on the cognitive and bodily crossing of places. Távora’s exploration of Portuguese culture and architecture played a crucial role in his focus on anonymous architecture and his emphasis on the geographical aspects of architecture. But the text also retraces the pages of the Diary kept by Távora during his “journey around the world” in 1960 – in particular, the visits to Japan and Athens – reading them in parallel with some of the architectural works designed by the same period.