Sena da Silva founder of the Portuguese Design Centre

António Martins Sena da Silva (Lisbon, 24 January 1926 — 26 September 2001) was a designer, architect, visual artist, photographer, chronicler, pedagogue, and entrepreneur, and one of the most significant figures in the establishment of design in Portugal. Among his peers, he stands out as the author of a truly multifaceted body of work: beyond an important written output, he was a remarkable photographer, with a declared passion for brand design, exhibition design, school furniture, posters, and ephemeral pavilions, as well as for architecture and pedagogy. In the field of furniture, the rationality, balance, and sobriety of his pieces justified their industrial production, from the stackable school chair CMD-1 to the primary school desk and chair model MMD-3, with the celebrated Sena chair standing as one of the iconic objects of Portuguese design. He is credited with founding the Portuguese Design Centre, of which he served as President between 1989 and 1994, working to establish its headquarters building and launching the periodical Cadernos de Design, alongside the translation and publication of various reference titles and the organisation of events, symposia, and conferences that brought design to the widest possible audiences. He was also responsible for the programming and coordination of the II Portuguese Design Exhibition, held at FIL in 1973, arguably the finest national design showcase held up to that point. Rigorous and reflective, Sena da Silva left an indelible mark on the process of affirmation, consolidation, and maturity of design in Portugal,