Architect, MArch
jnpalbuquerque@gmail.com
DK // +4525104478
PT // +351914295107
Joao Albuquerque was born in 1981 in Coimbra, Portugal. He studied and graduated from the Architecture Department of the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of Coimbra’s University (1999-2005), studying also during one year (2002/2003) abroad, in the Netherlands at TUDELFT architecture Faculty, the Bouwkunde.
In 2009/2010 he did the Masters in Digital Tectonics(MArch) at IaaC(Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia)), where he developed a FabBot (a CNC Knitting machine) generating an emergent bottom-up structural system based on a recycled technology (knitting machines) and a recycled material (plastic). - this project was exhibited at 2010 Architecture Beijing Biennale and at the Design Hub Museum in Barcelona.
Biennalle.
As a student, he worked at the London based architecture office Marcosandmarjan (Marcos Cruz - Director of the Bartlett School of Architecture / www.marcoscruzarchitect.blogspot.com and Marjan Colletti / www.marjan-colletti.blogspot.com), where he has worked for the design of the 2005 Lisbon Book Fair and the InternationalFair of Azores Islands.
In 2006/2007 he worked at ReD, Research+Design (Oporto/Barcelona)– www.re-d/blogspot.com - (Marta Male-Alemany - co-Director of the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia - and Jose Pedro Sousa - Professor at FAUP School of Architecture, University of Porto) developing several projects, including the design for the Nederlands Exhibition for the 2007 Lisbon Architecture Triennale (“Horror Vacui-Urban Implosions”) and the winner design for the Vitrakem Competition.
In 2007 he joined MAD architecture office, in Beijing, – www.i-mad.com - where he worked until 2008 on design and management of a number of projects as Project Architect, such as Tokyo Island (Dubai, The World), Parcel H+D5 (Residential Project for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) or the HAIER Pavilion, for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
In 2008/2009 Joao joined the Danish Architecture Office BIG, Bjarke Ingels Group - www.big.dk – working as Project Architect for projects in Kuala Lumpur, Taipei (Taiwan) - competition winner -, among others, and working as well at on goign projects such as The Battery, Danish Maritime Museum and Oresundsparken, introducing parametrization and computation to these projects, exploring from detailed scales of panelling systems and patterns to Master Plan definitions.
In 2010 Joao re-joined BIG a the Head of Computation for the Shenzhen Energy Mansion Towers project (http://www.big.dk/projects/sem/).
Independently, Joao won the competition “Urban Voids-City Interventions” (inserted in the 2007 Lisbon ArchitectureTriennale), with the design for the Square of Sta.Apolonia Train Station, in Lisbon, and the students competititon “Concurso Ibérico de Soluciones Constructivas Pladur” (2005), as student.
In June 2008 he founded the Hong Kong architecture office Y Design – www.ynotwhy.com - with Howard Jiho Kim and Tony Yam, where they have designed a Bus Terminal for Trancoso, Portugal (commissioned by the Townhall) and participated in the Magok Waterfront International Competition for Seoul, South Korea.
During the last years he has published several articles in Portuguese architecture magazines, and his work has been published as well. Recently he was interviewed in the Portuguese radio regarding his work and his professional course.
As interests in the domain of Design, Joao searches for opportunities that provide the possibility for investigation in architecture and design, computation (algorithmic and parametric), robotics, electronics, fabrication, among others.
His research Blog - http://jnpalbuquerque.blogspot.com – is an online work repository, and reports this quest of perceiving and researching for generative processes that breed and raise informed designs, where a symbiosis within a theoretical, computational and a sustainable realm is achieved.
“the extent to which you have a design style is the extent to which you have not solved the design problem”
- Charles Eames