2G - #97 Nuno Melo Sousa

After studying architecture at the Porto School of Architecture, spending a year in Delft, completing a scholarship in Ahmedabad, and teaching for several years in Bangkok, Nuno Melo Sousa returned to his hometown of Penafiel, a 40-minute drive from Porto. From there, working with local clients, he built a career based on small projects, mostly single-family homes, which gradually evolved into larger buildings. Working under these conditions allowed him to distance himself from the noise of architectural centres, while also fostering a close connection with his clients on meticulously crafted projects that, although incorporating certain features of contemporary Portuguese architecture, depart from local tradition. His work testifies to a highly personal, yet distinctly contemporary, approach. Text: Valerio Olgiati, Manuel Mendes, Anneke Abhelakh.