We have lost a huge ally in the effort of divulging Portuguese architectonic culture

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Manuel Graça Dias (Lisbon, 1953 - 2019) 

"Our role, as teachers, is to understand the best way to provide each student, as far as possible, the necessary instruments to attain knowledge by themselves and, afterwards, from there, to elaborate, make, propose, invent, discover oneself and their skills and limitations." Manuel Graça Dias 

At the age of 65, we have lost architect, professor, opinion maker Manuel Graça Dias, whose consistent career brings together a built legacy and a legacy of critical reflection that also went through the promotion, sharing and translation of knowledge to a broader audience, obviously playing a fundamental role in the promotion of Portuguese architecture. 

"Manuel Graça Dias lived architecture with an endless energy, through its various dimensions, designing, building, divulging, teaching, writing, sharing. He was a critical mind that, beyond the unique character of the work he materialized together with architect Egas José Vieira at the Contemporânea atelier, contributed decisively and generously to divulge Portuguese architecture. With his departure, we lost a friend and Portuguese culture has suffered a very sad and irreparable loss." José Mateus, President of the Lisbon Architecture Triennale

Manuel Graça Dias is an author that had the audacity to follow unorthodox routes, based on a unique approach, in which he adopted the path of an adventurous architecture, with projects of strong personality that ally the dimensions of performance and humour. 

The architect, who partnered with Egas José Vieira at the Contemporânea atelier, is co-author of, among other, the headquarters of the Portuguese Association of Architects, in Lisbon (1991), the Almada Municipal Theatre (1998) and the new Lu.Ca Theatre, in Belém (2018). In all his projects, his mark translated in a design to which context matter, without ever trying to camouflage itself into the street or city. 

Assistant professor at the Faculty of Architecture of Universidade Técnica de Lisboa (1985-1996) and Auxiliary Professor at the Faculty of Architecture of Universidade do Porto (1997-2015) — where he became a Doctor with the thesis “Depois da cidade viária” (2009) — Manuel Graça Dias remained a part of the teaching staff as Associate Professor of that faculty (since 2015) and invited Full Professor of the Department of Architecture of Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa (since 1998), of which he was also head (between 2000 and 2004).

With a strong presence in the media, he gained a leading role as an active player in the promotion of architecture, as the author of TV and radio shows, on the one hand, and, on the other, by leading several editorial projects through the most important channels of communication. Regarding the official journal of the Portuguese Association of Architects, he made an invaluable contribution, having led two of the strongest series of Jornal dos Arquitectos.

Frequently invited to conferences, exhibitions and seminars, he was the author of an extensive body of work, concerning articles, essays and publications on architecture. In 2007, he curated the official Portuguese representation at the São Paulo Biennial with a project called "5 5 Áfricas, 5 Escolas”. A bold proposal that wasn't confined to the creation of the exhibition's content but also included the potential commission of a built project as a practical answer to Portuguese-speaking African territories. A curatorial approach that actually triggered an heated argument concerning the symbolic and political dimension of this gesture/stance.

With an humanist vision and a strong sense of purpose, Manuel Graça Dias was an restless spirit and a born provocateur that, with kindness, took the role of leading figure in the promotion of architectonic culture, getting involved in the discussion of that discipline with a unique eloquence, with plenty of irony and assertiveness. He was an ethically and civilly committed architect, a commitment that granted him various awards, such as an honourable mention of the Prémio Valmor e Municipal de Arquitectura, in 1983, regarding the house at Rua da Senhora do Monte, and the AICA/MC Award, in 1999, with Egas José Vieira.

Manuel Graça Dias was part of Lisbon Architecture Triennale's Advisory Board; he curated — with Ana Vaz Milheiro —the exhibition Africa/Brazil of the 2010 Triennale; he participated in countless editions of Open House Lisboa showing to the public some of the most important work by the Contemporânea atelier and, more recently, he moderated the talk that followed the Critical Distance conference with Paul Ghirardani, Art Director of the critically acclaimed Game of Thrones, about the fictional architecture and almost impossible constructions.

A nonconformist architect who devoted himself to building and inspiring a nonconformist future, one who, by challenging norm, paved the way to creativity and critical thinking.