Our practice shares a common origin: the same foundational training and the same studio for several years, Bruno Soares Arquitectos. What sets it apart is the vocation and interests of each: different research, specialisations and experiences that together allow a more complete understanding of urbanism and territorial planning.
Urban planning architect with a degree in Urban Management Architecture from the Faculty of Architecture of the Technical University of Lisbon (1994–2000). For over eighteen years she was part of the Bruno Soares Arquitectos team, where she developed a consistent practice in territorial planning: from Municipal Master Plans to Urbanisation and Detail Plans, from territorial action programmes to urban studies and medium and large-scale subdivisions.
What defines her professionally is the ability to manage complexity: multidisciplinary teams, long processes, clients with different interests and territories with difficult histories. To this she adds attention to detail and complementary academic training that informs how she reads the territory and communicates with those who live in and make decisions about it. Since 2019 she works independently. She collaborates with Bruno Lamas under the URUK brand.
Urban planning architect and PhD in Economic Sociology and Organisations from the Lisbon School of Economics and Management (ISEG-UL). Graduated in Urban Management Architecture (1997–2003) and Master in Urban and Environmental Regeneration (2008), he collaborated permanently for fourteen years at Bruno Soares Arquitectos before starting an independent practice combining territorial planning with sociological research.
He has a particular experience in the sector: he has worked on regional and municipal development strategies, on airport and port planning, on metropolitan accessibility and mobility studies, and on urban plans and studies, while also writing on political economy and economic sociology for international academic publications. This dual training (technical and intellectual) translates into a comprehensive approach that prioritises analysis of the territorial context before proposing any solutions, valuing visual and cartographic communication. Since 2022 he works independently. He collaborates with Rita Feio Machado under the URUK brand.
How we work
Experience has taught us that each challenge requires a specific approach — a response thought out for itself. For this reason, we have no formula. We begin with an analysis of the various dimensions of each territory and from it build the appropriate method. This means listening carefully, above all to stakeholders, technical teams, data, and the social histories the place itself contains. This has enhanced both our ability to work at any scale and to enter a process at any stage, from the initial reading of the territory to the final regulation.