Aires Mateus
Manuel Aires Mateus (Born in Lisbon, 1963) is a graduate architect from the Faculdade de Arquitetura - U.T.L, class of 1986.
Francisco Aires Mateus (Born in Lisbon, 1964) received his architecture degree from the Faculdade de Arquitetura - U.T.L in 1987.
They started collaborating with architect Gonçalo Byrne in 1985.
In 1988, they established their architecture studio, Aires Mateus.
Since 1986, they have served as lecturers at various universities, including:
- Mendrisio Academy of Architecture,
- The Graduate School of Design at Harvard,
- Cornell University's College of Architecture, Art, and Planning,
- The Faculty of Architecture at the Autonomous University of Lisbon,
- The Oslo School of Architecture,
- The Faculty of Architecture at the University of Ljubljana,
- And the Higher Technical School of Architecture of Navarra in Pamplona.
From their office in Lisbon, the Aires Mateus studio conducts work in multiple countries.
They have garnered several national and international accolades, including the Valmor Prize, the Secil Prize, the FAD Awards, the Ecola Prize, the Ibero-American Architecture Biennial Awards, and numerous nominations for the Mies van der Rohe Prize. In 2017, they were honored with the Pessoa Prize.
Their architecture focuses on the role of memory and knowledge, contemplating the relationship between the physical and cultural world. Their work reflects on all scales of human interaction, invoking the desire to draw. They emphasize the continuity of forms and materiality, the passage of time.
