ESAP

ESAP-Escola Superior Artística do Porto has an institutional affiliation with the Cooperativa de Ensino Superior Artístico do Porto (CESAP),a public non-profit entity, established in May 1982 and legalized by public deed in the Diário da República no. 202 , III series, of 1 September 1982, with operating authorization granted by Order 129 / MEC / 86 of 28 June.

The location in the center of Oporto city corresponds to a strategic option that has contributed to a significant interaction with the local community and the urban environment in which it is inserted. ESAP is one of the associate school of UNESCO and has established various national and international protocols with universities and other institutions of artistic and cultural nature.

The teachings here practiced are the various media that configure contemporary artistic and architectural production. Through an interdisciplinary practice, students construct their referential field, as a space of confrontation, in which different experiences and multiple theoretical-practical perspectives intersect.

ESAP is a space for encouraging the research and meetings between artists, theoreticians, researchers, curators or other professionals, national and international, both inside and outside the institution. The place that ESAP occupies in the territory of the arts and architecture is manifested in the growing recognition of its partners.

It is in this collective construction that we continue to believe.

Andrea Faraguna

Andrea Faraguna is an architect based in Berlin whose work explores architecture as a cultural and environmental practice, focusing on adaptive reuse, scenography, and behavioral design. His work investigates architecture as a narrative and ecological medium, where spatial design negotiates the interplay between material cycles, human behavior, and climatic forces, transforming existing structures and constructing new spatial frameworks that articulate collective meaning and perception. A graduate of the Iuav University of Venice, where he earned his PhD, he collaborated with Francesco Venezia in Naples before co-founding the Berlin-based studio sub in 2017. He has taught at the Accademia di Architettura in Mendrisio and at the Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien. In 2025, he received the Golden Lion at the Venice Architecture Biennale for the curation and design of the National Pavilion of the Kingdom of Bahrain, conceived as a climatic prototype for public space.

Atelier da Costa

The studio, founded in 2015, has offices in Póvoa de Varzim and, more recently, in Porto.

Hugo Barros, the coordinating architect, holds a Master’s degree from FAUP and also studied at the Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio. From 2012 to 2013, he worked at David Chipperfield Architects in London.

He has been invited to present ATELIERDACOSTA’s work at various events, including classes, conferences, exhibitions, workshops and publications. Notably, the Greek magazine DOMA published a notebook on the ‘villas’ they designed.

Hugo Barros has been nominated for several awards, including the National Wood Architecture Award, the “Forma” Awards and the Young Architects Award (Prémio Jovens Arquitectos). He won the latter in 2023 for the “Casa de Férias” project. In addition to his architectural work, he has also designed sets for various theatre and dance productions.

Balissat Kacani

Baukunst

Combining art and technology, dialoguing and interplaying various forms of knowledge, BAUKUNST is committed to explore architecture as a medium with which both to think about building (BAU) and build ways of thinking (KUNST).
Studies in Architecture at ISA St-Luc Tournai, Belgium and at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland (diploma with Prof. E. Zenghelis in 1999). He was a design architect at Herzog & de Meuron, Basel between 2000 and 2003 and at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture – Rem Koolhaas, Rotterdam until 2001. Adrien Verschuere is the co-founder of the architecture firm Made in, Geneva, Switzerland.
In 2010, he established BAUKUNST in Brussels and from 2017 in Lausanne.
Adrien Verschuere is regularly invited as guest critic or lecturer in various institutions, among others : the FAUP Porto, IRGE Universität Stuttgart, Berlage Institute Rotterdam, USI Accademia di Architettura Mendrisio, Kyoto Design Lab, and ETH Zürich.
From 2019, Adrien Verschuere is Visiting Professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland.

Bear

BEAR is an architecture office based in Bilbao that explores the possibilities of architecture as a discursive practice.

Directed by Ane Arce and Iñigo Berasategui, BEAR resumes its activity in 2021 after operating since 2018 as AZAB.

Didier Fiuza Faustino

Didier Fiúza Faustino is an architect and artist working on body and space through subversion of systems.
Established in Paris since 2001 and Lisbon since 2016, he is developing a multi-faceted approach, tanging from installation to experimentation, from visual art to the creation of multi-sensorial spaces, mobile architecture and buildings.

Laura Cristea

Laura Cristea is an architect based in Bucharest, Romania. She was a guest lecturer at PBSA Düsseldorf in 2024, with previous teaching experiences at AHO Oslo, EPF Lausanne, ETH Zurich, and UAUIM Bucharest. Laura has also been invited for various lectures and critiques at University of Mendrisio and Xiamen University, among others.
Together with Swiss architect Raphael Zuber she co-founded Pelinu Books, an independent publishing house, and Pelinu Projects, a company through which they aim to develop a series of experimental projects. She is currently supervising the construction of the first one, House at The Black Sea, nearing completion.
Other important works include the lakeshore development of the six Colentina lakes in Bucharest (1st place awarded competition 2024 together with Raphael Zuber and Beros Abdul Architects, under design), an inclusive mountain camp for children in Romania (1st place awarded competition 2023, under design), Inverted House as part of a team from AHO Oslo (built 2016 in Japan and widely published).

Marc Leschelier

Marc Leschelier is a French architect based in Paris. He builds architectures without function, entitled pre-architectures, in open spaces, sculpture parks, or any situation exempt from urban regulations. While inventing an architectural genre through the development of alternative constructive systems, Leschelier responds to the sclerosis of the architectural discipline by creating an immediate, naked, speaking architecture. Drawing inspiration from performance art, vernacular architecture and industrial materials, Leschelier weaves together multiple languages in an attempt to break architecture’s process and bring it into sync with the speed of the present.

Marc Leschelier was a fellow at the Villa Medici in 2017–2018 and at Casa Wabi this year. His work has been awarded by Herzog and De Meuron with the redistribution of their prize at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He is the guest architect for an 1700 sqm installation in Florence for Pitti Uomo 2026. In March 2025, he opened a solo show in Paris in dialogue with historic pieces by Jean Prouvé on loan from a private collector. He has exhibited his work at Christophe Gaillard Gallery, Mascota, Ketabi Bourdet, and Everyday Gallery. He has participated in international fairs such as Design Miami Paris, Salone del Mobile and Art Brussels. Over the past six years, he has built nine permanent and ephemeral pavilions.

Nuno Melo Sousa

Nuno Melo Sousa, 1988. Studied at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Porto. Erasmus at TUdelft -bouwkunde, The Netherlands. Exchange program at Balkrishna Doshi’s International Studio in Sangath, Ahmedabad, India. Collaborated at atelier [A] ainda arquitectura and with Nuno Brandão Costa.
Adjunct professor at INDA – Faculty of Architecture of the Chulalongkorn University- Bangkok, Thailand, between 2015 and 2017, teaching studios from year one to year four. Has conducted his year 4 studio, with field trips to Tokyo, Japan and Sydney, Australia.
Teaching year one design – Projecto I as an invited professor at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto – FAUP, from 2020.
Since 2012, his practice focuses on a local exchange between craftsmanship and peculiar and close relationships with clients, aiming to be as site specific as disruptive in the act of (un)building. Published in Casabella, A10, on diseño, among other online publications such as Dezeen, Archello, Archdaily and Designboom. Casa no Tâmega was awarded with a special mention from the jury for the 2021’s FAD architecture prize and the Proposal for the expansion of Sverre Fehn’s Domkirkeodden competition in Hamar, Norway, was shortlisted.
Has lectured and guest critique in schools as Mendrisio School of Architecture’s Atelier Olgiati – Patrícia Silva studio, Toronto School of Architecture, UNAB Santiago do Chile, DARQ Coimbra, FAUP and ISCTE Lisbon. Was Tutor at the international Porto Academy 2021 architecture workshop and the ESAD Porto Design Biennale Petite Follies 2021 building workshop.
His drawings have been exhibited in galleries in Penafiel, Porto, Lisbon and is currently preparing an exhibition in Faro.

Takk

TAKK is an architecture studio based in Barcelona and New York, founded by Mireia Luzárraga and Alejandro Muiño. The studio’s work critically engages with the integration of ecological frameworks into architectural discourse and spatial production, aiming to develop new material and political imaginaries for the built environment.

Mireia Luzárraga is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Core I sequence at Columbia University GSAPP. Together with Alejandro Muiño, they were the Kengo Kuma Visiting Professors at the University of Tokyo in 2024, and Master Tutors at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) in Barcelona from 2018 to 2022.

They are the editors of 100 Words for Water, a book published by Lars Müller Publishers that brings together more than one hundred expert voices—including philosophers, architects, activists, and scientists—to create a conceptual toolkit aimed at reformulating our relationship with water amid growing ecological urgency.

Adrien Verschuere

Studies in Architecture at ISA St-Luc Tournai, Belgium and at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland (diploma with Prof. E. Zenghelis in 1999). He was a design architect at Herzog & de Meuron, Basel between 2000 and 2003 and at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture – Rem Koolhaas, Rotterdam until 2001. Adrien Verschuere is the co-founder of the architecture firm Made in, Geneva, Switzerland.
In 2010, he established BAUKUNST in Brussels and from 2017 in Lausanne.
Adrien Verschuere is regularly invited as guest critic or lecturer in various institutions, among others : the FAUP Porto, IRGE Universität Stuttgart, Berlage Institute Rotterdam, USI Accademia di Architettura Mendrisio, Kyoto Design Lab, and ETH Zürich.
From 2019, Adrien Verschuere is Visiting Professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland.

Andrea Faraguna

Andrea Faraguna is an architect based in Berlin whose work explores architecture as a cultural and environmental practice, focusing on adaptive reuse, scenography, and behavioral design. His work investigates architecture as a narrative and ecological medium, where spatial design negotiates the interplay between material cycles, human behavior, and climatic forces, transforming existing structures and constructing new spatial frameworks that articulate collective meaning and perception. A graduate of the Iuav University of Venice, where he earned his PhD, he collaborated with Francesco Venezia in Naples before co-founding the Berlin-based studio sub in 2017. He has taught at the Accademia di Architettura in Mendrisio and at the Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien. In 2025, he received the Golden Lion at the Venice Architecture Biennale for the curation and design of the National Pavilion of the Kingdom of Bahrain, conceived as a climatic prototype for public space.

Ane Arce

Ane Arce (Bilbao, 1989) is an architect and co-founder of BEAR.

She graduated from the Higher Technical School of Architecture at the University of Navarra in 2014. Together with Iñigo Berasategui, she founded the studio AZAB in 2018, which in 2021 evolved into BEAR.

Her work has received significant recognition, including the 2019 Peña Ganchegui Prize for the best young Basque architects and the 2020 Egurtek Award. She has also been shortlisted by Arquia Próxima and the Spanish Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism (BEAU). In 2025, she was named among the 40 under 40 by the Chicago Athenaeum as one of Europe’s most relevant emerging architects. Her most notable projects include Herriko Plaza in Mallabia (2019); the Nahinuena House, selected for Internalities, the Spanish Pavilion at the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale; and the Basque Folk Music Museum in Artea (2024). Her work has been exhibited at the Casa de la Arquitectura in Madrid, the Basque Institute of Architecture, and Villa Noailles in Hyères. Her models and design processes are also part of the permanent collection of the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum.

Alongside her professional practice, she is active in academia and cultural debate, having lectured at universities and institutions, served as juror for biennials and congresses, and contributed to ongoing discussions on contemporary architecture. Since 2024, she has been a faculty member at the School of Architecture of the University of Navarra.

Didier Balissat

Didier Fiuza Faustino

Didier Fiúza Faustino is an architect and artist working on body and space through subversion of systems.
Established in Paris since 2001 and Lisbon since 2016, he is developing a multi-faceted approach, tanging from installation to experimentation, from visual art to the creation of multi-sensorial spaces, mobile architecture and buildings.

Hugo Barros

Hugo Barros, the coordinating architect, holds a Master’s degree from FAUP and also studied at the Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio. From 2012 to 2013, he worked at David Chipperfield Architects in London.

He has been invited to present ATELIERDACOSTA’s work at various events, including classes, conferences, exhibitions, workshops and publications. Notably, the Greek magazine DOMA published a notebook on the ‘villas’ they designed.

Hugo Barros has been nominated for several awards, including the National Wood Architecture Award, the “Forma” Awards and the Young Architects Award (Prémio Jovens Arquitectos). He won the latter in 2023 for the “Casa de Férias” project. In addition to his architectural work, he has also designed sets for various theatre and dance productions.

Iñigo Berasategui

Iñigo Berasategui (Bilbao, 1988) is an architect and co-founder of BEAR. He graduated from the Higher Technical School of Architecture at the University of Navarra in 2013. Together with Ane Arce, he founded the studio AZAB in 2018, which in 2021 evolved into BEAR. His work has been widely recognized, including the 2019 Peña Ganchegui Prize for the best young Basque architects and the 2020 Egurtek Award. In addition, their projects have been shortlisted by Arquia Próxima and the Spanish Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism (BEAU).Among his most notable projects are Herriko Plaza in Mallabia (2019); the Nahinuena House, selected for Internalities, the Spanish Pavilion at the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale; and the Basque Folk Music Museum in Artea (2024). His work has been exhibited at the Casa de la Arquitectura in Madrid, the Basque Institute of Architecture, and Villa Noailles in Hyères, while his models and design processes are part of the permanent collection of the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum. Alongside his professional practice, he is actively engaged in teaching and cultural dissemination. He has lectured at universities and institutions, participated in conferences, and directed activities and programs at both local and national events such as BIA Forum and Mugak. Since 2024, he has been teaching Design Studio I and II at the Higher Technical School of Architecture of the University of Navarra.

Joni Kaçani

Laura Cristea

Laura Cristea is an architect based in Bucharest, Romania. She was a guest lecturer at PBSA Düsseldorf in 2024, with previous teaching experiences at AHO Oslo, EPF Lausanne, ETH Zurich, and UAUIM Bucharest. Laura has also been invited for various lectures and critiques at University of Mendrisio and Xiamen University, among others.
Together with Swiss architect Raphael Zuber she co-founded Pelinu Books, an independent publishing house, and Pelinu Projects, a company through which they aim to develop a series of experimental projects. She is currently supervising the construction of the first one, House at The Black Sea, nearing completion.
Other important works include the lakeshore development of the six Colentina lakes in Bucharest (1st place awarded competition 2024 together with Raphael Zuber and Beros Abdul Architects, under design), an inclusive mountain camp for children in Romania (1st place awarded competition 2023, under design), Inverted House as part of a team from AHO Oslo (built 2016 in Japan and widely published).

Marc Leschelier

Marc Leschelier is a French architect based in Paris. He builds architectures without function, entitled pre-architectures, in open spaces, sculpture parks, or any situation exempt from urban regulations. While inventing an architectural genre through the development of alternative constructive systems, Leschelier responds to the sclerosis of the architectural discipline by creating an immediate, naked, speaking architecture. Drawing inspiration from performance art, vernacular architecture and industrial materials, Leschelier weaves together multiple languages in an attempt to break architecture’s process and bring it into sync with the speed of the present.

Marc Leschelier was a fellow at the Villa Medici in 2017–2018 and at Casa Wabi this year. His work has been awarded by Herzog and De Meuron with the redistribution of their prize at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He is the guest architect for an 1700 sqm installation in Florence for Pitti Uomo 2026. In March 2025, he opened a solo show in Paris in dialogue with historic pieces by Jean Prouvé on loan from a private collector. He has exhibited his work at Christophe Gaillard Gallery, Mascota, Ketabi Bourdet, and Everyday Gallery. He has participated in international fairs such as Design Miami Paris, Salone del Mobile and Art Brussels. Over the past six years, he has built nine permanent and ephemeral pavilions.

Nuno Melo Sousa

Nuno Melo Sousa, 1988.
Non-drummer and Architect.
Graduated from the Oporto School of Architecture – FAUP in 2011.
Also studied at TUdelft – bouwkunde and Balkrishna Doshi’s International Workshop in Ahmedabad, India.
Worked with [A] ainda arquitectura and Nuno Brandão Costa.
Established his own studio in 2012.
Adjunct Professor in Bangkok from 2015 to 2017, teaching his own Year 4 design studio at INDA – Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Currently teaching Projecto I at the Oporto School of Architecture – FAUP.

Indexnewspaper

Indexnewspaper is a magazine of architecture printed in newspaper paper.
The editorial contains an interview, a visit to an office, projects and works, and essays. The front cover has an ” artwork ” designed by an invited artist.
Since 2012 Indexnewspaper has been part of several worldwide events related to publishing and editorial design.
Indexnewspaper was awarded with the prize Clube de Criativos de Portugal 2012 for editorial design and selected for the collection of the library of MOMA in New York.
Alongside with the regular edition, Indexnewspaper published special editions and the edition of books. Indexnewspaper has also organized conferences, exhibitions, and workshops.
For us, Index is “the finest newspaper”.

Indexshop

Indexshop presents you an ongoing independent selection of books and objects of architects, artists and designers. It is also the Indexnewspaper and Porto Academy official store.

Beyond its curatorial vocation, Indexshop is increasingly committed to supporting architectural practice by supplying studios with a carefully selected range of architectural hardware and project-specific solutions.

Ivo Tavares Studio

Ivo Tavares Studio is a photography studio specialized in architecture, dedicated to creating images that capture the essence of spaces.

With an approach that combines documentary rigor and artistic sensitivity, the studio works closely with architects, designers, and institutions, contributing to the communication and appreciation of their projects.

The practice of the studio is built on two main pillars: the observation of light as a structuring element of the image and the pursuit of visual narratives that go beyond mere documentation. Each photograph seeks not only to record a building but also to convey the atmosphere, the experience, and the impact of the space on its urban or natural surroundings.

Over the years, Ivo Tavares Studio has consolidated its presence in the national scene, with projects widely published in leading international magazines and platforms. Its work aims not only to promote contemporary architecture but also to expand its cultural reach, strengthening the visibility of Portuguese architectural production worldwide.

PANORAMAH!

With surfaces above 98% structural glass, minimalist windows are all about glazing. From an industrial point of view, more significant glass dimensions require larger tempering furnaces, smooth operability and technical performances impose precision and higher quality standards, often more demanding than defined by international glass processing norms.
To keep up with new challenges, panoramah! verticalized its industrial activity and integrated glass transformation in 2011. Continuously investing in its transformation capacity ever since, it became one of the largest glass transformers in Europe with a 9-metre furnace and the ability to process double- and triple-glazed units up to 29 sqm. This capacity has proved critical in different processes, mainly as glass progressively absorbs new functions, admits irregular and curved shapes or assumes various aesthetic requirements.
panoramah! is currently the only manufacturer of minimalist windows in the world that processes and manufactures the main components of its systems, having full control and accountability over the entire process. From design to manufacture and installation, we answer for the complete system, both glass and aluminium. We streamlined glass transformation, adaptation to the system and transportation to the job site, rendering an apparently risky and complex procedure into an everyday job.
Furthermore, with built experience in over 60 different countries and a strong network of more than 50 certified specialized partners, panoramah! is effectively present throughout the globe. Supported by our team, this network is composed by fully experienced technicians that ensure a constant presence at all stages, from glazing consulting to installation and long-term maintenance.