The “Escultura Aberta” is one of the newest works by Álvaro Siza Vieira, created beside the historic Mosteiro de Leça do Balio near Porto. It opened publicly in 2024 as part of the revitalization of the monastery complex, now home to the Fundação Livraria Lello.
Architecturally, it is a striking white concrete intervention: minimalist, geometric, and contemplative. Rather than competing with the medieval Gothic monastery, Siza designed it as a dialogue between past and present. He described the project not as a contrast with the historic structure, but as a continuation and complement to it.
The work occupies about 400 m² and was conceived around the idea of pilgrimage and spiritual passage. The monastery historically stood on the Portuguese Way of Saint James (Camino de Santiago), and the sculpture includes the figure “Viandante” (“Wayfarer”), symbolizing the traveler or pilgrim. Light, shadow, voids, and movement through space are central to the experience.
What makes the project especially interesting is how “architectural” the sculpture feels. It is somewhere between pavilion, chapel, courtyard, and land art. The sequence of walls and openings creates a meditative walk rather than a single object to observe.
The renovation of the historic Monastery of Leça do Balio is one of the most significant recent architectural interventions in Portugal. Commissioned by the Fundação Livraria Lello, the project combines restoration, adaptive reuse, landscape design, and contemporary sculpture within a medieval religious complex linked to the Camino de Santiago.
Rather than reconstructing the monastery in a purely historical manner, Siza pursued a restrained and respectful approach. The renovation removed low-quality additions from previous decades, revealed original stone structures, restored cloisters and interiors, and introduced new exhibition and cultural spaces while preserving the spiritual atmosphere of the site.
If you would like to visit this architectural masterpiece by Álvaro Siza—the only one of its kind in the country—please contact us directly or visit the page for our tour, the Architecture Route.
