Fernando Távora

Fernando Luís Cardoso Meneses de Tavares e Távora was born on August 25, 1923, in Porto. In 1952, he graduated in architecture from the School of Fine Arts, which later transformed into the Escola do Porto. Távora was one of the founders and taught here as a professor along with Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura.
His stay abroad was made possible by a scholarship from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and a cultural institute in the United States and Japan (1960). He worked on the “Mapping Portuguese Architecture” and authored many texts including “Problema da Casa Portuguesa” (1947) and “Organização do Espaço” (1962). He also served as a professor at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Coimbra, which awarded him an honorary doctorate. In addition to his academic career, he worked as an architect at the city hall in Porto, as a consultant to the Vila Nova de Gaia city council, as an advisor to the “Ribeira/Barredo Urban Renewal Commission,” and many other projects. His efforts were recognized with several architectural awards, including the Gold Medal of the city of Porto and the "Comenda da Ordem Militar de Santiago da Espada".