about
Architectural Affairs, founded by Andreia Garcia in Porto in 2016, operates across the discipline of architecture through three interconnected fields: design practice, curatorial work and publishing.
In architecture, the studio’s work has been recognised internationally, having been selected for the EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award (2022), the FAD Awards (Spain, 2018, 2019 and 2020), the Dezeen Awards (UK, 2019), the BigMat International Architecture Award (France, 2019), the LEONARDO Award (Belarus, 2019) and the HÄUSER Award (Germany, 2020), and has been widely published in specialised international media.
Alongside its design practice, Architectural Affairs develops an active curatorial practice exploring the intersections between architecture, art and territory. Highlights include the curatorship of the Portuguese Representation at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia (2023) with the project Fertile Futures; the exhibition The Future is Now for the Portugal Pavilion at Expo Osaka 2025; and Portugal’s representation at the London Design Biennale 2025 with the exhibition Metabolisms of Repair. Earlier curatorial projects include the Maia Contemporary Art Biennial (2019), Double Exposure at Roca Gallery Lisbon (2019), Contemporâneos Extemporâneos at Galeria Fernando Santos (2021), Anuário 2020 across several galleries in Porto (2021), and the Art(e)facts Biennial of Knowledge, a cross-disciplinary programme on art, architecture, craft and ecology conceived in Fundão in 2021. Andreia Garcia is currently developing the curatorship of the Tirana Architecture Triennale 2027, entitled Architectures of the Invisible.
Publishing also forms an important strand of the studio’s activity. Among its editorial projects are Shaping Shape (2019), selected for the FAD Awards 2020 in the category of Thought and Criticism, the series Architectural Notes in Review (since 2021), and 40 Days (2022). The studio has also edited several books and exhibition catalogues, including the monograph marking the centenary of Theatro Circo in Braga and the two volumes of Fertile Futures, the editorial project accompanying the Portuguese Representation at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia 2023.
team
Andreia Garcia is an architect, curator, editor, researcher and university professor. Her work develops from an architectural practice that expands into interdisciplinary exchange with complementary fields, particularly contemporary art, articulating research with design practice, curatorial work and publishing. Her interests focus on architecture within a context marked by rapid technological advances and an ecological crisis, exploring forms of mediation between territory and its resources. She holds a PhD in Architecture from the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Lisbon. Her doctoral dissertation was awarded the Professor Manuel Tainha Prize, granted to the best PhD thesis in Architecture of 2014/2015, and was published as a book in 2016 under the title Scenic Space, Architecture and City.
In 2016 she founded the studio Architectural Affairs. As an architect, her work has been selected for the FAD Awards (2018, 2019 and 2020), Dezeen Awards (2019), BigMAT Award (2019), HAUSER Award (2020), and the EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award (2022).
She is a professor at the University of Minho, where she teaches in the field of Architecture and directs the PhD programme in Architecture at the School of Architecture, Art and Design. Previously, she served as Vice-President of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Beira Interior, where she taught in the Department of Architecture. Since 2025 she has been a visiting full professor in the Master’s programme in Spatial Design at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. She has also served as a visiting assistant professor at the Architectural Association (AA) in London.
In parallel, she has been invited to deliver lectures and teaching sessions at several international institutions, including the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid – Polytechnic University of Madrid (ETSAM), the University of Valladolid (UVa), Escola da Cidade in São Paulo (Brazil), the Vilnius Academy of Arts (Lithuania), the School of Architecture in Amman (Jordan), and the University of Georgia, among others.
In 2016 she co-founded Galeria de Arquitectura, an independent space dedicated to critical reflection on Architecture, the City and the Territory, based in Porto. Alongside this, she has developed an independent curatorial practice in both national and international contexts. She curated Smaller Cities (Guimarães European Capital of Culture, 2012), Projecto Memória (Centenary of Theatro Circo, Braga, 2015), Shaping Shape (Architecture Programme of the Maia Contemporary Art Biennial, 2017), Rhythm of Distances: Propositions for the Repetition (Galeria Vertical, 2017), Endless Space: Propositions for the Continuous (Galeria Vertical, 2017), Double Exposure (Roca Gallery, 2019), the Maia Contemporary Art Biennial (2019), Contemporâneos Extemporâneos (Galeria Fernando Santos, 2021), and Anuário (Porto, 2020). She conceived the Maia Architecture Month and curated its first two editions: João Álvaro Rocha (MAM, 2018) and Fast Forward (MAM, 2019). She also conceived and directed the Art(e)Facts Knowledge Biennial in Fundão in 2021.
In 2023 she was the curator of the Official Portuguese Representation at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, with the project Fertile Futures, dedicated to the scarcity and management of freshwater in the Portuguese territory. In 2025 she curated the exhibition The Future is Now for the Portugal Pavilion at Expo Osaka, and Portugal’s representation at the London Design Biennale with the exhibition Metabolisms of Repair. She is currently preparing the curatorship of the Tirana Architecture Triennale 2027, entitled Architectures of the Invisible.
Aurora Benassi (11.2023-05.2024)
Liam Romo Echezarreta (06.2022-09.2023)
Francesco Casula (04.2022-09.2022)
María Las Heras Campos (09.2021-02.2022)
Carlos Pastor Garcia (09.2020-02.2021 / 07-09.2021)
Simone Satalino (08-09.2021)
Francisco Cerezo (06-09.2021)
Alessia Liscia (03-05.2021)
Rita Amado (09.2019-08.2020 / 01-03.2021)
Tomas Lavandeira Poyato (10.2020-02.2021)
Elda Rodríguez (11.2019-10.2020)
Francesco Casula (07.2020-09.2020)
Clara Puentes (09.2018-05.2020)
Martzel Arriaga (02-08.2019)
Margarida Antunes (01.2018-09.2019)
Cecilia Carrioli (01.2019-06.2019)
Clara Asperilla (03-09.2018)
Inés Brotons (03-09.2017)
projects
awards
European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture Mies Van Der Rohe Award
Pavillion House
Nominated
Ed. 2020
Shaping Shape
Category Thought and Criticism
Selected
[2020]
Pavillion House
Honourable Mention
[2020]
Pavillion House
Finalist
[2019]
Pavillion House
Category Construction
Winner
[2019]
Prudêncio Studio
Category Interiorism
Winner
[2019]
Nominated
[2019]
Pavillion House
Selected
[2019]
Pavillion House
Selected
[2019]
Prudêncio Studio
Selected
[2018]
press
writing
07.2021
talks and lectures
Young Architon 2021
– Chamber of Architects Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart.
Invited by: Chair of the Young Architects Network, Sara Vian
[25.04.2021]
Speaker
Organization: Editors MA magazine, Students from the Faculty of Architecture of Porto University
Speakers: Andreia Garcia, Ana Aragão, Mafalda Mendonça
Moderation: Álvaro Domingues
[09.06.2021]
Moderation
Organization: NAUBI — Núcleo de Arquitetura da Universidade da Beira Interior
Speaker: Filipe Paixão
[11.03.2021]
Moderation
Organization: NAUBI — Núcleo de Arquitetura da Universidade da Beira Interior
Speaker: Nuno Grande
[11.03.2021]
Moderation
Organização: Andreia Garcia, Filipe Lacerda, Inês Campos, Pedro Seixo Rodrigues
[02.03.2021]
Speaker
Organization: Ministerio de Transportes, Movilidad y Agenda Urbana
Curatorship: Zuloark
Moderation: Javier Peña Ibáñez
[25.11.2020]
Speaker
Organization: Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura (ETSAM)
[04.03.2020]
Speaker
Organization: Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura (ETSAM)
[03.03.2020]
Speaker
Organization: Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Jornal de Notícias
[17.02.2020]
Speaker
Organization: Ordem dos Advogados, Ordem dos Arquitectos, Ordem dos Engenheiros, Ordem dos Médicos
[31.01.2020]
Panel: Andreia Garcia, Cláudio Reis, Diogo Aguiar, João Araújo, Rita Huet
Organization: STET Bookshop
[14.12.2019]
Speakers: Andreia Garcia, Fernando Guerra
[14.12.2019]
Speakers: Andreia Garcia, Diogo Aguiar
Organization: NucleAR
[12.12.2019]
Speaker
Organization: Universidade da Beira Interior (UBI)
[18.11.2020]
Speakers: And Atelier, Andreia Garcia,
Claudio Reis, Diogo Aguiar, Fahr 021.3, Moradavaga, Pedro Tudela
Organization: Galeria de Arquitectura
[19.10.2019]
Theme: “The UNESCO network of creative cities: the Portuguese case.”
Speakers: Armindo Jacinto (Idanha-a-Nova – music),
Luísa Arroz Albuquerque (Caldas da Rainha – handicraft and popular arts), André Magalhães (Amarante – music), Paula Ganhão (Óbidos – literature)
Moderation: Andreia Garcia
Organization: Regional Department of Culture of Central Region
[12.07.2019]
Speakers: the board, madre loves objects, IKEA industry, wewood
Moderation: Andreia Garcia
[13.06.2019]
Speakers: Patachou, Bullseye, IKEA industry, Lislei
Moderation: Andreia Garcia
[12.06.2019]
Speakers: Andreia Garcia, Francisco Paiva, Francisco Afonso
Organization: A Tentadora
Moderation: Pedro Seixo Rodrigues
[15.05.2019]
Organization: Student Organization
[27.02.2019]
Speakers: Andreia Garcia, Diogo Aguiar, Sara Orsi
Moderation: Paulo Moreira
[05.02.2019]
Curator: Iñaki Carnicero
Organization: Fundación Arquia
[16.10.2018]
Speakers: Josep Ferrando, Marc Dubois, GA Estudio, Christ & Gantenbein,
Ana Perez Quiroga, Sérgio Rebelo
Moderation: Andreia Garcia
[05.09.2018]
Organization: Student Organization
[10.05.2018]
Organization: Acción Cultural Espanhola, AC/E
[29.04.2018]
Speaker
Organization: Porto Lazer, Fine Arts Porto University
[24.04.2018]
Speaker
Organization: Porto Lazer, Fine Arts Porto University
[20.04.2018]
Speakers: Luís Ferreira Alves, José Gigante, Maria Conceição Melo, Nuno Valentim, Rui Póvoas
Moderation: Andreia Garcia
[24.03.2018]
Organization: Vera Sacchetti
[13.02.2018]
Organization: Talkie Walkie
[09.01.2018]
Speakers: Galeria de Arquitectura, Galerias Mira, Mala Voadora
[29.11.2017]
Painel: DepA and Pablo Pita
Moderation: Andreia Garcia
Organization: Project 2st year Unit Professors (UBI)
[29.11.2017]
Organization: Serralves, Talkie-Walkie
[03.11.2017]
Moderation: Andreia Garcia, Eduarda Neves
[21.07.2017]
Speakers: Andreia Garcia, Gabriela Vaz Pinheiro, João Sousa Morais, João Mendes Ribeiro
[01.07.2017]
Speakers: Andreia Garcia, Susana Ventura, Tiago Casanova, Ricardo Noronha
[19.04.2017]
Lecturer
[31.01.2017]
Speakers: Andreia Garcia, Guilherme Blanc, Juliana Trentin
Moderation: Hugo Reis, Filipa Frois Almeida
[24.01.2017]
Lecturer
[11.11.2016]
Moderation: Vera Sachetti
[11.10.2016]
Speakers: Pedro Campos Costa e Paulo Henrique Durão
Moderation: Andreia Garcia, Diogo Aguiar
[02.07.2016]
Lecturer
[26.04.2016]
Oradora
[15.01.2016]
Speakers: Rita Maria Machado, Sérgio Borges, João Mendes Ribeiro, José Capela
Moderation: Andreia Garcia
[23.10.2015]
Lecturer
[16.10.2015]
Speakers: Jiri Sulzenko, Blanka Berkyova, Jakub Deel, Andreia Garcia, Fernando Martins, Ida Kaiserova
Organization: European Capital of Culture 2015
[01.11.2014]
Speakers: Frederico Draw, LIKEarchitects, Bazooca
Moderation: Andreia Garcia
[11.10.2013]
Speakers: Mariana Tome Ribeiro (Fine&Candy), Ariana Vieira, Carlos Alpoim, Paula Trigueiros, Alzira Peixoto and Carlos Mendonça, Né Santelmo, Cláudia Ribeiro, Frederico Duarte, Ivo Teixeira
Moderation: Andreia Garcia
[09.06.2013]
Speakers: João Valente, Eduardo Filipe Aires, Miguel Neiva, Brimet Silva, João Cortesão, Alexandra Oliveira, Bruno André (AND-RÉ), Mafalda Fernandes and Constança Saraiva,
Clara Vieira and Andreas Eberharter (Claan), Paulo Costa
Moderation: Andreia Garcia
[02.06.2013]
Speakers: Andreia Garcia, Colectivo Exyzt, Lyndia Hoyem Anker, Anne Gjesdal Bjornal
[15.05.2013]
Speaker
[14.03.2013]
Theme: “Transformação do Vale do Ave. Guimarães: Berço da Nação e Território Industrial à Capital Europeia da Cultura”
Speakers: Álvaro Domingues, Gabriela Vaz-Pinheiro, Ricardo Bastos Areias
Moderation: Andreia Garcia
Organization: FAUP, Guimarães 2012
[25.06.2012]
Speaker
Moderation: Susana Ventura.
[15.06.2012]
collaborations
Acción Cultura Española AC/E
AMAG
And Atelier
Archdaily
Caleidoscópio
Casa da Arquitectura
Centro de Documentação e Investigação João Álvaro Rocha (CDIUJAR)
Diogo Aguiar Studio
Distopia Livraria
Fernando Guerra
FNAC
Livraria A+A
Livraria AEFAUP
Miguel Novo
Sara Orsi
Serralves
Silver Lining
STET, Livros e Fotografias
Talkie-Walkie
Técnica Livraria
Tiago Casanova
Unveil
Vasco Mendes
XYZ Bookshop
institutional clients
Ágora E.M.
Guarda 2027 Capital Europeia da Cultura
Guimarães 2012 Capital Europeia da Cultura
Municipality of Fundão
Municipality of Guarda
Municipality of Maia
Municipality of Porto
Municipality of Santo Tirso
Roca Gallery Lisbon
Theatro Circo de Braga
contacts
architectural affairs
—
Rua Miguel Bombarda 578
4050-379 Porto
Portugal
info@architecturalaffairs.pt