1953-2019

The architect and critic Manuel Graça Dias died in his home city of Lisbon on 24 March. Graduated in 1977 from the ESBAL of Lisbon, he started teaching at the schools of architecture of Lisbon and Porto, where he completed his PhD in 2009. Graça Dias combined academic and professional practice, working first with Manuel Vicente in Macao, then a Portuguese colony, and collaborating later with António Marques and António de Campos in projects in Lisbon. Finally he would set up his own studio with Egas José Vieira, with whom he completed projects like the Portuguese Pavilion at the Seville Expo of 1992, the refurbishment of the Luís de Camões Theater in Lisbon, and the Municipal Theater of Almada. But Graça Dias earned recognition especially for his work as architecture critic over more than three decades, both in specialized magazines and in newspapers, and, above all, for the architecture programs he had the chance of directing on the public radio and televisions. Manuel Graça Dias also curated exhibitions and biennials, and directed the Ordem dos Arquitectos – the professional association in Portugal – between 2009 and 2012.