AnA Porto 2024

About the Speakers

Manuel Aires Mateus was born in Lisbon in 1963 and graduated from Faculty of Architecture, University of Lisbon in 1986. He started collaborating with the architect Gonçalo Byrne in 1983 and started developing projects with his brother, Francisco, in 1988. The office Aires Mateus was then established independently by the two brothers although it was housed in Gonçalo Byrne’s studio in the first years. The increasing scale of work made them establish a larger and autonomous space to fulfill the demands. Since then the scale and the number of projects have been prolific, resulting in several national and international awards. The visibility of their work has led to them holding numerous lecturer and instructor positions at several institutions. Among these are Harvard GSD, the Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio, as well as several others in Portugal. The firm now spans two studios, both based in Lisbon, and extends to several partnerships with local studios for international work. His work has been exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 2010 and 2016, along with being awarded the Premios Enor Award in 2006, the Pessoa Prize in 2017 and the Wallpaper Design Award in 2018.  www.airesmateus.com

Andreia Garcia (Guimarães, 1985) is an architect, curator, researcher and teacher. Her interests focus on the contemporary practice of architecture in an era marked by strong technological advances and a progressive ecological crisis. She is a member of the Centre for Research in Architecture, Urbanism and Design. She is the author of several books and has been invited to teach at several international universities. She is currently vice-president of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Beira Interior, where she teaches on the Architecture MA programme. She is the founder of Architectural Affairs, which works in the discipline of architecture through design, curation and publishing. As an architect, her work has been shortlisted for: FAD Awards (2018, 2019 and 2020); Dezeen Awards (2019); BigMAT Award (2019); HAUSER Award (2020); Mies van der Rohe (2022). She is co-founder of Galeria de Arquitectura in Porto, an independent space dedicated to reflecting on Architecture, the City and Territory. In 2023 she was the curator of the Portuguese representation at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. architecturalaffairs.pt

Nuno Brandão Costa (Oporto, 1970) graduated from the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto (FAUP) in 1994, where he finished his PhD in 2013 and has been teaching since 1999. He did a curricular internship with Herzog & de Meuron in Basel, Switzerland, from 1992 to 1993 and in 1998 he began his own project practice following having won 1st prize at the public competition for the project of the Library of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Nova University of Lisbon. His work covers a considerable diversity of scales and programmes. The construction of the Campanhã Bus Terminal (TIC) and the rehabilitation and expansion of the São João de Deus social housing neighbourhood, both in Porto, are more recent and worth mentioning. His work was exhibited at the 8th Venice International Architecture Biennale in 2004, at the Architecture Biennale of São Paulo in 2005, Portugal Now at Cornell University, New York in 2007, and the 17th Venice International Architecture Biennale in 2021. He was nominated for the Mies Van der Rohe Award in 2008, 2021 and 2023, for the BSI – Swiss Architectural Award in 2012, was a runner up of the FAD Award in 2017, and won the Expresso journal award for project in social, economic and environmental impact and the Gran Premio Enor 2023. www.brandaocosta.com