Renowned Portuguese designer, he received several awards including, for example, the Gold Medal for Architecture in 1988. He was born in 1933 and he studied at the High School of Fine Arts, graduating in 1955. Since 1958, he has worked in Fernando Tavora's studio: the two reflected and studied a lot the concept of an architecture that could be Portuguese and modern at the same time. In the early years of his career, Álvaro mostly focuses on local projects. The international scene arrived in the 1980s. Today, he is a well-known character, his architecture is defined as contemporary and modern, with the use of simple elements and geometric shapes.