Paulo Providencia occupies a special place in contemporary Portuguese architecture. He is recognised by many as one of the best of the generation following Eduardo Souto de Moura. His work is concerned about interpretation of programmatic needs, relating architecture to specific cultural contexts. His buildings the vast majority of them located in Portugal are based on sound theoretical background, rooted in philosophical and anthropological research. This new book features seven of Providencia's realised structures in striking duotone photographs taken by the Portuguese photographer Alberto Placido. Each is documented as well with selected plans and key information. Five topical essays by Providencia round out the first monograph in English on this eminent architect and theoretician. AUTHOR: Paulo Providencia is a Portuguese architect. He runs a design studio in the Department of Architecture at the University of Coimbra, Portugal. 83 colour, 73 b/w illustrations