photographer marc goodwin tours the architecture studios of porto

architecture studios of porto through marc goodwin’s lens

Continuing his global exploration of architects’ workspaces, Archmospheres photographer Marc Goodwin turns his lens to Porto. Traveling across the city, Goodwin visited a diverse group of architecture studios, many housed in carefully renovated buildings that speak to Porto’s layered urban fabric. This latest series highlights the character and daily life of each practice, from young collectives to long-established offices, offering a glimpse into the spaces where projects take root. Through Goodwin’s thoughtful photography, the distinct personalities of each studio — and their relationship to the city’s historic and contemporary architecture — come quietly into view.

Nuno Melo Sousa | all images © Marc Goodwin

architectural affairs

Architectural Affairs is a contemporary architecture studio founded by Portuguese architect, curator, and academic Andreia Garcia. With a strong foundation in interdisciplinary research and curatorial practice, the firm engages in projects that rethink the relationship between architecture, the city, and the environment. Known for its critical and conceptual approach, Architectural Affairs operates at the intersection of design, pedagogy, and cultural discourse — extending Garcia’s vision for architecture as a tool for sustainable, inclusive, and forward-thinking change. Before the studio moved into the 1970s-era building, captured here by photographer Marc Goodwin / Archmospheres, the space served as a garage and art gallery.

Architectural Affairs

ata atelier

ATA Atelier is an architecture practice based in Porto, founded in 2021. The firm works out of a previous retail space in a building designed by Depa Architects. Focusing on using analytical methods to guide its design process, the team pays particular attention to how architecture relates to place. ATA explores key themes such as typology, materiality, form, and space, aiming to create thoughtful, functional responses that align with both project needs and the surrounding urban context.

ATA Atelier

atelier da costa

Located in Póvoa de Varzim, a short drive from Porto’s historic center, ATELIERDACOSTA inhabits a space of quiet transformation. Once an empty shell, the studio was reimagined by its own team within a contemporary building originally designed by architect Jean Pierre Porcher in 2008. Like its architectural work, which often reveals a thoughtful attention to landscape, light, and community — as seen with its Casa de Férias project — ATELIERDACOSTA’s workspace reflects a spirit of careful calibration. Its approach tends toward clarity and warmth, balancing sturdy material choices with a sensitivity to surroundings that extends from their residential designs to the everyday atmosphere of its practice.

ATELIERDACOSTA

Atelier Local

Located in Valongo, just outside of Porto, Atelier Local occupies a quietly storied building that once served as a bakery, grocery store, and residence. Renovated by the studio in 2020–2021, the early 19th-century structure now reflects the thoughtful sensibility of João Paupério and Maria Rebelo, who founded the practice after formative experiences in Brussels and Porto. Since establishing its workspace, the studio has continued to deepen the dialogue between research and practice. The space echo its architectural approach — grounded in history, yet attentive to the subtle possibilities of renewal.

Atelier Local

colectivo mel

Located in a former private house dating back to around 1890, colectivo MEL has made its home on Rua Dr Alves da Veiga since 2014. The architecture studio describes itself as a ‘wandering architecture office,’ open to projects that seek to meaningfully improve the world. From its Porto base, MEL approaches design as a catalyst for collaboration between technicians and users, encouraging dialogue, dismantling preconceptions, and fostering community action. The practice is rooted in conscious, responsible work that respects both people and the environment, reflecting a belief that ‘work must signify a pleasure and a creative act.’

colectivo MEL

CREA — Arquitetos

In a 19th-century building once home to a school and faculty, CREA — Arquitetos has occupied its compact 30-square-meter workspace at Praça Coronel Pacheco since 2014. As part of UPTEC’s Creative Science cluster, the Porto-based studio sees its space not just as an office, but as a ‘daily site of reflection and experimentation.’

From the beginning, CREA has sought to blur the boundaries between architecture and other artistic and social expressions, cultivating a practice that, in their words, acts ‘as a support where imaginaries and experiences are transmuted into the context in which they are inserted.’ This sensibility carries through their projects, which range from collective housing to socially oriented facilities, all guided by a focus on sustainability, circularity, and shared use.