"Why did you decide to become an architect?"

I wanted to be an architect because I knew I wanted to do something creative with my life and express myself through the things I made. And if I was going to make things, I would like to do something with impactful, that shaped lives and made the world a better place.

It was with this goal in mind that I started my studies in 2006 at the prestigious Lisbon engineering and technology school, Instituto Superior Técnico, graduating and obtaining my Masters degree in late 2011. During those 5 years I would develop a particular interest in sustainable design and urban models, elaborating my final thesis on sustainable rural communities and the impacts that worldwide depopulation trends have in both the rural and urban environments.

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After graduation I moved to Oporto to start a one year internship with Arquigrupo where I helped develop schemes for the education sector but also some smaller scale housing projects and service buildings. At the end of 2014 I became a registered architect in Portugal.

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Apart from sustainable design I also have a deep interest in digital design tools and humanitarian architecture. This led me to start an advanced studies program at the Lisbon School of Architecture in the fields of computation, parametric design and digital fabrication applied to architecture, design and urban planning. During this time I would win a digital design & fabrication competition and publish my first scientific paper for the 32nd eCAADe Conference at the Northumbria University in Newcastle. In this paper I explore the use of Shape Grammars and how rule-based design could be implemented in the generation of modular emergency shelters for communities in need. Continuing my foray into digital territories, in the beginning of 2015 and for the duration of 6 months I integrated a team at the I&D department of Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores (INESC-ID) to help develop Rosetta, a digital design tool used for generative and parametric design in different CAD environments.

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In late 2015 I moved to London with the aim to further broaden my horizons and skills in design and construction. I started off at AND Architects in the role of assistant architect working on residential projects across London and on a design proposal for a pavilion and site plan for the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. Since 2016 I have been working for Beaufort House Ltd on the reconstruction, expansion and full refurbishment of a high-end 7 storey house in West London. As a Technical Architect I was involved in all aspects of running the project across all RIBA work stages.

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