The Idea of Álvaro Siza is an investigation that intersects the worlds of photography and architecture, developed by Mark Durden and João Leal, who are members of CEAU through the AAI research group. The AAI group has been accompanying and supporting the authors since the beginning of the project in Portugal, a collaboration that has developed on several fronts, with a special focus on editorial work and graphic design through scopio Editions and the production of various texts of analysis and criticism on the various photographic series developed so far, namely the texts published in the scientific book Um Outro Olhar sobre Obras de Álvaro Siza Contemporary Documentary Photography on Portuguese Architecture and in the scopionewspapers collection.

The purpose of The Idea of Álvaro Siza project is to broaden understanding of the world of architecture by exploring photography as a significant tool for artistic and documentary research, capable of creating a set of photographic series in which the images move between documentary and poetic modes. The project aims to contribute to a better understanding of Siza's work, particularly the relationship between his architectural work and modernism and the specific requirements of the territory in which it was implemented, as well as his unique contributions to the history of architecture.

Some of these photographic series were also included in the set of case studies on Contemporary Photography Projects on Portuguese Architecture for the Visual Spaces of Change (VSC) research project, a research project led by the Architecture, Art and Image (AAI) group at the Center for Architecture Studies (CEAU), funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT).

There is support for The Idea of Álvaro Siza project from the University of South Wales, as well as the preparation of an application to the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) program.