A new book by artist and photographer Richard Walker, entitled “Faro Modernism: Buildings, heritage and culture through the lens of an artist”, is being launched in May. It explores the exciting buildings of Faro – one of the greatest cities for Modernist architecture in the world and is packed with inspiring photography.
Modernism, characterised by geometric shapes and flat roofs, is one of the defining architectural styles of the 20th century throughout Europe. And nowhere is it more in abundance than in Faro, capital of Portugal’s Algarve region. There are over 500 Modernist buildings in Faro, the highest concentration of these types of buildings in Southern Europe.
The city now has a specific Modernist buildings area, through which guided tours show the full range of detached and semi-detached grand houses, large-scale apartment blocks and little roads of terraced houses that are, in fact, cleverly disguised maisonettes.
The architectural ringleader was Manuel Gomes da Costa, an Algarvian by birth, who had gone to South America in search of work but who came back in the 1950s to transform the city.
Inspired by the work of earlier architects including Le Corbusier and Oscar Niemeyer, Costa and his colleagues set about creating a Modernist paradise in the southern sun. This book will give fans of inspirational architecture the first real opportunity to delve deep into Southern Europe’s ‘Palm Springs’.
Richard Walkeris a renowned photographer and artist who has been visiting Faro for over 20 years and has amassed an astonishing record of its Modernist buildings. He hosts architectural tours, including many trips for the Twentieth Century Society.
“Faro Modernism” is his second book and includes many unseen photographs of the buildings that have gradually been restored and brought back to life over recent years. He splits his time between London and Faro.
ISBN 9781849949958 | RRP £45 | Hardback | Published by Batsford | Launch date: May 14, 2026
