José Carlos Loureiro was born in Covilhã on 2 December 1925.
After completing the General Secondary Education Course, he was admitted in the Porto School of Fine Arts, in the academic year 1941-1942. In the course of his degree, in which he excelled, he received the Carlos Ramos Award, in 1945, for obtaining the highest mark in Architecture (18 marks out of 20), and the Portuguese Industrial Association Award, in 1947.
He completed the course in 1950 with a final mark of 19 out of 20, and began to work as an architect and teacher (2nd assistant) at ESBAP.
Ten years later, he competed for the teaching post at ESBAP with the thesis entitled O Azulejo – Possibilidade da sua reintegração na Arquitectura Contemporânea [a study on glazed-tiles and how they can be integrated in modern architecture]. His work was approved.
In 1972, he left teaching and worked on a full-time basis in Architecture. Four years later, he set up the company Galp, Lda. - Gabinete de Urbanismo, Architectura e Engenharia (in the Town Planning, Architecture and Engineering business), together with fellow colleague Pádua Ramos, who had been working with him since 1955. This office was to become one of the most creative spaces of Porto architecture.
José Carlos Loureiro also held other management functions at the former SNA - North Regional Department, in two different periods in time, and was the Vice-President of the National Governing Board of the Society of Portuguese Architects (1986/89).
He participated in several congresses and conferences on Architecture and Town Planning, went on study trips and researched, in particular on "A Casa de Brasileiro", which was the topic of many conferences and papers he presented, for example, "Os Portugueses e o Mundo" [The Portuguese and the World], in the Colloquium of Ibero-American Architects, held in Seville, in the Association of Portuguese Architects, in the Santo Tirso City Hall and Alfândega do Porto.
He participated in several exhibitions since the 1950s, and received prizes in some of them (ODAM - Organization of Modern Architects, 1951, at the S. Paulo Biennial Exhibition, and the exhibition on Artes das Olimpíadas, where he received an Honourable Mention in 1952, in the Exhibition Of Contemporany Portuguese Architecture, in 1958, at the 1st Exhibition on Architecture, organized by the Society of Portuguese Architects, in 1987, where he received an Honourable Mention, and in many other Architecture exhibitions, the Magna Exhibitions organized by ESBAP, Serralves, A.A.P., Maia Architecture Award, etc.).
Due to his excellent skills, he was able to participate in many competition juries, either representing the Association of Portuguese Architects or following a direct invitation. He participated in two glazed-tile competition juries, in the competition promoted by the Asbestos-Cement Producing Companies, in the competition for the exhibitions promoted by the Braga City Hall, in the competition for the Town Planning Works in Parque da Cidade do Porto, in an competition also promoted by the Braga City Hall, this time for the Campo da Vinha, in the competition promoted by the Gondomar City Hall for the construction of the Management Centre and City Hall Building, and again in a competition organized by the Porto City Hall for the construction of the Municipal Public Library Almeida Garrett, and in the competition "Caminhos do Romântico", under the framework of PORTO 2001.
Following an invitation by the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto, José Carlos Loureiro judged the application of Architect Alcino Soutinho for the post of Associate Professor.
He has written articles in periodicals such as the magazine "O Tripeiro", and has participated in many television programmes. In 1992, he resumed his teaching activity as guest Professor at ESBAP. In Março 2009, he received the Gold Merit Medal from the Porto City Hall.
The December 2, 2015, on the occasion of Jose Carlos Loureiro 90th birthday, the José Marques da Silva Architect Foundation Institute (FIMS), the entity to which he donated his professional collection and the Oporto School of Architecture (FAUP), where he studied and taught, promoted a tribute to this distinguished Portuguese architect, initiative that also had the support of the Municipality of Porto and the Northern Regional Section of the Order of Architects and was sponsored by OTIMAH!.
The event that took place at the Oporto School of Architecture consisted on a round table, with interventions by the architects Siza Vieira, Ana Tostões and Nuno Brandão and moderation of Alexandre Alves Costa. The opening of an exhibition projected by Luís Pinheiro Loureiro and Nuno Brandão Costa, presenting his most singular works and the launch of a brochure on the architectural projects of this artist.
In 2017 he received the Professional Merit Medal from the Municipality of Gondomar.
José Carlos Loureiro died on August 31, 2022, at his home in Valbom, Gondomar, at the age of 96.
(Universidade Digital / Gestão de Informação, 2010)
Source:
https://sigarra.up.pt/up/en/WEB_BASE.GERA_PAGINA?p_pagina=antigos%20estudantes%20ilustres%20-%20jos%c3%a9%20carlos%20loureiro