Paulo Vale Afonso is an architect based in Ponte de Lima, Portugal.
He develops creative processes and cultural contents focusing on space, territory and society, rooted deep within its context and time.
He believes that architecture is a collective work based on collaboration and cooperation between individuals.
Paulo do Vale Afonso is graduated in Architecture from the University of Coimbra (Portugal) and furthered his studies at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway.
He was shortlisted as one of the ten architects selected worldwide for the Début Award at the 4th Lisbon Architecture Triennale (2016), and his work has been presented at conferences and published internationally.
With over 15 years of professional experience, his practice has combined independent commissions with collaborations with leading architecture offices in the development of architectural and urban projects across all design phases.
He has collaborated with renowned architecture offices in Portugal, Spain, Peru and Macau, including Carlos Ferrater, 51-1 Arquitectos and Masslab, among others. As Project Leader and Project Manager, he was responsible for coordinating multidisciplinary teams and overseeing the design and delivery of complex architectural and urban projects of diverse scales and programmes.
He was a co-founder of AMA – Afonso Maccaglia Architecture (2012–2014), a practice focused primarily on educational projects in the Peruvian Amazon and internationally recognised through major architectural awards and biennials. He was also a co-founder and partner of RAS·A (2018–2025), an architecture collective based in Portugal, and a co-founder and editor of Morfema Magazine.
Alongside architecture, he develops a parallel body of work in photography, focusing on space, territory, and society, and exploring the relationship between subjects and space through an approach he refers to as spatial anthropology.
His first solo exhibition takes place in 2021.
Selected Honors
Selection Shortlist Premis FAD 2025 ∙Spain
1st Prize Collective Equipment in Prémios Espaço 2024 ∙ Portugal
Selected Inter-American Development Bank Catalogue
“Escuelas del siglo XXI en América Latina y el Caribe” 2018
Nominated Plataforma Arquitectura Obra del Año 2017
Finalist Oscar Niemeyer Award for Latin American Architecture 2016
Shortlisted Lisbon Triennale Début Award 2016 ∙ Lisboa, Portugal
Finalist in X Bienal Iberoamericana de Arquitectura y Urbanismo (BIAU) 2016 ∙ São Paulo, Brasil
2nd Prize Social Habitat and Development in XIX Panamerican Architecture Biennial of Quito (BAQ) 2014 ∙ Quito, Ecuador
Finalist Archdaily Building of the Year 2015 – Educational
Shortlisted Peru X Bienal Iberoamericana de Arquitectura y Urbanismo (BIAU) 2014 ∙ Argentina
Longlisted 4th Holcim Awards for Sustainable Architecture 2014
Publications
books & magazines
IDEAS DE HABITAT - Arquitectura en Peru 2010 - 2020 ∙ Peru, 2021
Ofzine #2 "Going South" ∙ Portugal, 2021
Encontros de Arquitectura II / Escola de Coimbra ∙ Portugal, 2019
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN 7 ∙ France, 2018
“Escuelas del en América Latina y el Caribe” Catalogue ∙ online, 2018
Casa & Construção 149 ∙ Brasil, 2018
GREEN BUILDING Magazine ∙ Taiwan, 2017
RADICAL. 50 Arquitecturas Latinoamericanas ∙ México, 2016
Boundaries n. 17 “Rebuilding the Future: Culture” ∙ Italy, 2016
Summa+ 151 “Tipologias” ∙ Argentina, 2016
Arquitectura Viva 185 “For Children” ∙ Spain, 2016
C3 Magazine 376 “Regionalism and Global Diversity” ∙ South Corea, 2015
Arkinka n. 240 “Espacios Educativos” ∙ Peru, 2015
Catalogue BAQ 2014 ∙ Ecuador, 2015
Proyecta n. 34 ∙ Peru, 2015
Proyecta n. 31 ∙ Peru, 2015
Arkinka n. 221 “Espacios Educativos” ∙ Peru, 2014
Boundaries n. 9 “Do-it-yourself Architecture” ∙ Italy, 2014
articles
(Lost) In Translation in Morfema n. 4 “Escolas” ∙ Portugal, 2017
Fronteira: ponto de contacto in Morfema n. 3 “Fronteira(s)” ∙ Portugal, 2016
Cantagallo: uma ilha urbana in Morfema n. 2 “Casas do Povo” ∙ Portugal, 2015
Arquitectura de mercado, ou o mercado da arquitectura in Morfema n. 1 “Mercado” ∙ Portugal, 2015
web
The New Wood Open Architecture Atlas ∙ Tanto Mar ∙ Arquitectura panamericana ∙ arqa ∙ Domus ∙ Archdaily ∙ Plataforma Arquitectura ∙ Impactdesignhub ∙ construccionyvivienda.com ∙ Socializarq ∙ Redfundamentos ∙ veoverde ∙ Livegreenblog ∙ Habitar blog ∙ Apuntes de Arquitectura ∙ Revista Código ∙ presS/Tinternational ∙ La Republica ∙ Ipsilon/Público ∙ O Minho
Exhibitions
Cities Connection Project CCP07 - Architecture in Transition, Coimbra, Portugal ∙ 2025
Mira Mobile Prize B&W 2021, Porto, Portugal ∙ 2021
Going South, Viana do Castelo, Portugal ∙ 2021
Mira Mobile Prize 2018, Porto, Portugal ∙ 2018
Mextropoli 2017, Mexico City ∙ 2017
Premio ON, Quito, Ecuador ∙ 2016
XIX Bienal Panamericana de Quito, Quito, Ecuador ∙ 2014
Tanto Mar, Portugueses fora de Portugal, Lisbon, Portugal ∙ 2014
Conferences and lectures
Diálogos Habitar América Latina - Ancestralidades
REDBAAL / UIA2021RIO ∙ Jun 2021
Beyond (in)formal in Expedition19
Instituto, Porto, Portugal ∙ Jul 2019
Quinzena19
Instituto, Porto, Portugal ∙ Jan 2019
Encontro de Arquitectura Escola de Coimbra
FCTUC, Coimbra, Portugal ∙ Sep 2018
Construir com a Comunidade
ESAP, Porto, Portugal ∙ May 2017
Novos Espaços Educativos na Selva Peruana
Departamento de Arquitectura FCTUC, Coimbra, Portugal ∙ Feb 2016
Novos Espaços Educativos na Selva Peruana
Ponte de Lima, Portugal ∙ Jan 2016
Bitácora Abierta
UpeU, Lima, Peru ∙ Nov 2014
Conferencias Magistrales – Espacios Educativos
Colegio de Arquitectos del Peru. Huancayo, Peru ∙ Jun 2014
Arquitectura y Identidad
UCAL, Lima, Peru ∙ Jun 2014
Nuevos Espacios Educativos en el Perú
Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo PUCP, Lima, Peru ∙ Apr 2014
Contacts
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Paulo Vale Afonso is an architect based in Ponte de Lima, Portugal.
He develops creative processes and cultural contents focusing on space, territory and society, rooted deep within its context and time.
He believes that architecture is a collective work based on collaboration and cooperation between individuals.
Paulo do Vale Afonso is graduated in Architecture from the University of Coimbra (Portugal) and furthered his studies at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway.
He was shortlisted as one of the ten architects selected worldwide for the Début Award at the 4th Lisbon Architecture Triennale (2016), and his work has been presented at conferences and published internationally.
With over 15 years of professional experience, his practice has combined independent commissions with collaborations with leading architecture offices in the development of architectural and urban projects across all design phases.
He has collaborated with renowned architecture offices in Portugal, Spain, Peru and Macau, including Carlos Ferrater, 51-1 Arquitectos and Masslab, among others. As Project Leader and Project Manager, he was responsible for coordinating multidisciplinary teams and overseeing the design and delivery of complex architectural and urban projects of diverse scales and programmes.
He was a co-founder of AMA – Afonso Maccaglia Architecture (2012–2014), a practice focused primarily on educational projects in the Peruvian Amazon and internationally recognised through major architectural awards and biennials. He was also a co-founder and partner of RAS·A (2018–2025), an architecture collective based in Portugal, and a co-founder and editor of Morfema Magazine.
Alongside architecture, he develops a parallel body of work in photography, focusing on space, territory, and society, and exploring the relationship between subjects and space through an approach he refers to as spatial anthropology.
His first solo exhibition takes place in 2021.
Selected Honors
Selection Shortlist Premis FAD 2025 ∙Spain
1st Prize Collective Equipment in Prémios Espaço 2024 ∙ Portugal
Selected Inter-American Development Bank Catalogue
“Escuelas del siglo XXI en América Latina y el Caribe” 2018
Nominated Plataforma Arquitectura Obra del Año 2017
Finalist Oscar Niemeyer Award for Latin American Architecture 2016
Shortlisted Lisbon Triennale Début Award 2016 ∙ Lisboa, Portugal
Finalist in X Bienal Iberoamericana de Arquitectura y Urbanismo (BIAU) 2016 ∙ São Paulo, Brasil
2nd Prize Social Habitat and Development in XIX Panamerican Architecture Biennial of Quito (BAQ) 2014 ∙ Quito, Ecuador
Finalist Archdaily Building of the Year 2015 – Educational
Shortlisted Peru X Bienal Iberoamericana de Arquitectura y Urbanismo (BIAU) 2014 ∙ Argentina
Longlisted 4th Holcim Awards for Sustainable Architecture 2014
Publications
books & magazines
IDEAS DE HABITAT - Arquitectura en Peru 2010 - 2020 ∙ Peru, 2021
Ofzine #2 "Going South" ∙ Portugal, 2021
Encontros de Arquitectura II / Escola de Coimbra ∙ Portugal, 2019
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN 7 ∙ France, 2018
“Escuelas del en América Latina y el Caribe” Catalogue ∙ online, 2018
Casa & Construção 149 ∙ Brasil, 2018
GREEN BUILDING Magazine ∙ Taiwan, 2017
RADICAL. 50 Arquitecturas Latinoamericanas ∙ México, 2016
Boundaries n. 17 “Rebuilding the Future: Culture” ∙ Italy, 2016
Summa+ 151 “Tipologias” ∙ Argentina, 2016
Arquitectura Viva 185 “For Children” ∙ Spain, 2016
C3 Magazine 376 “Regionalism and Global Diversity” ∙ South Corea, 2015
Arkinka n. 240 “Espacios Educativos” ∙ Peru, 2015
Catalogue BAQ 2014 ∙ Ecuador, 2015
Proyecta n. 34 ∙ Peru, 2015
Proyecta n. 31 ∙ Peru, 2015
Arkinka n. 221 “Espacios Educativos” ∙ Peru, 2014
Boundaries n. 9 “Do-it-yourself Architecture” ∙ Italy, 2014
articles
(Lost) In Translation in Morfema n. 4 “Escolas” ∙ Portugal, 2017
Fronteira: ponto de contacto in Morfema n. 3 “Fronteira(s)” ∙ Portugal, 2016
Cantagallo: uma ilha urbana in Morfema n. 2 “Casas do Povo” ∙ Portugal, 2015
Arquitectura de mercado, ou o mercado da arquitectura in Morfema n. 1 “Mercado” ∙ Portugal, 2015
web
The New Wood Open Architecture Atlas ∙ Tanto Mar ∙ Arquitectura panamericana ∙ arqa ∙ Domus ∙ Archdaily ∙ Plataforma Arquitectura ∙ Impactdesignhub ∙ construccionyvivienda.com ∙ Socializarq ∙ Redfundamentos ∙ veoverde ∙ Livegreenblog ∙ Habitar blog ∙ Apuntes de Arquitectura ∙ Revista Código ∙ presS/Tinternational ∙ La Republica ∙ Ipsilon/Público ∙ O Minho
Exhibitions
Cities Connection Project CCP07 - Architecture in Transition, Coimbra, Portugal ∙ 2025
Mira Mobile Prize B&W 2021, Porto, Portugal ∙ 2021
Going South, Viana do Castelo, Portugal ∙ 2021
Mira Mobile Prize 2018, Porto, Portugal ∙ 2018
Mextropoli 2017, Mexico City ∙ 2017
Premio ON, Quito, Ecuador ∙ 2016
XIX Bienal Panamericana de Quito, Quito, Ecuador ∙ 2014
Tanto Mar, Portugueses fora de Portugal, Lisbon, Portugal ∙ 2014
Conferences and lectures
Diálogos Habitar América Latina - Ancestralidades
REDBAAL / UIA2021RIO ∙ Jun 2021
Beyond (in)formal in Expedition19
Instituto, Porto, Portugal ∙ Jul 2019
Quinzena19
Instituto, Porto, Portugal ∙ Jan 2019
Encontro de Arquitectura Escola de Coimbra
FCTUC, Coimbra, Portugal ∙ Sep 2018
Construir com a Comunidade
ESAP, Porto, Portugal ∙ May 2017
Novos Espaços Educativos na Selva Peruana
Departamento de Arquitectura FCTUC, Coimbra, Portugal ∙ Feb 2016
Novos Espaços Educativos na Selva Peruana
Ponte de Lima, Portugal ∙ Jan 2016
Bitácora Abierta
UpeU, Lima, Peru ∙ Nov 2014
Conferencias Magistrales – Espacios Educativos
Colegio de Arquitectos del Peru. Huancayo, Peru ∙ Jun 2014
Arquitectura y Identidad
UCAL, Lima, Peru ∙ Jun 2014
Nuevos Espacios Educativos en el Perú
Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo PUCP, Lima, Peru ∙ Apr 2014
Contacts