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News

After nearly a decade of formal and informal investigation, fala published 'Ugly Ducks', a book on Porto’s overlooked architectural language. Supported by Plaka and CMPorto, the book is published by Exemplo, with graphic design by and atelier and photographs by Giulietta Margot.

fala has completed project 179, a compact striped urban block containing five family apartments. privately developed and offered on the open market, it was acquired by sru porto, unexpectedly turning a private venture into fala’s first completed public housing project. fala has also completed projects 224, 196, 218, 085, and 167, a varied body of work spanning different scales and contexts.

AMAG PT 14, a monographic issue dedicated to fala, is now available, presenting a selection of recent work alongside new photographs by Francisco Ascensão and an essay by Guillermo Fernández-Abascal.

A new AV Monographs issue dedicated to fala will be published in November 2026, bringing together a selection of 24 projects from across the practice’s work.

This academic year, fala extends its teaching activity to new latitudes. The practice is currently teaching at the Yale School of Architecture during the fall semester of 2026 and will teach at the University of Tokyo in the spring semester of 2027.

About

fala is an architecture practice based in Porto and Lausanne. Founded in 2013, the atelier is led by Filipe Magalhães (Porto, Portugal, 1987), Ana Luísa Soares (Porto, Portugal, 1988), Ahmed Belkhodja (Lausanne, Switzerland, 1990), and Lera Samovich (Novokuznetsk, Russia, 1991), together with Ana Lima, João Carlos Lopes, and João Baptista. Its partners graduated from FAUP, ETH Zurich, and the Moscow Architecture School; Filipe, Ahmed, and Lera completed PhDs in architecture between 2024 and 2025, while Ana Luísa is expected to complete hers in 2026. Since 2015, fala has continuously held teaching positions and led design studios at European and North American schools, and currently teaches at Yale School of Architecture, HEAD Genève, and ENSA Paris-Est. Before fala, its partners worked with leading practices including Harry Gugger in Basel; SANAA, Atelier Bow-Wow, and Toyo Ito in Tokyo; and Alexander Brodsky in Moscow. Since 2026, fala has served as Chief Curator of Architecture at MAC/CCB in Lisbon. Since its foundation, the practice has produced more than two hundred projects and competition proposals, with nearly seventy works built to date.

Team

filipe magalhães

porto, pt, 1987; graduated in architecture at faculdade de arquitectura do porto; phd in architecture at faculdade de arquitectura do porto; collaborated with harry gugger in basel and sanaa in tokyo; guest professor at Yale School of Architecture; Curator of Architecture at MAC/CCB (2026-). partner at fala since 2013.

ana luisa soares

marco de canaveses, pt, 1988; graduated in architecture at faculdade de arquitectura do porto; phd researcher at faup; collaborated with harry gugger in basel and toyo ito in tokyo; guest professor at Yale School of Architecture. partner at fala since 2013.

ahmed belkhodja

lausanne, ch, 1990; graduated in architecture at epfl lausanne and at eth zurich; phd in architecture at faculdade de arquitectura do porto; collaborated with obra architects in new york, harry gugger in basel and atelier bow wow in tokyo; guest professor at Yale School of Architecture, head geneva and ensa paris-est. partner at fala since 2014.

lera samovich

novokuznetsk, ru, 1991; graduated in architecture at moscow school of architecture; phd in architecture at faculdade de arquitectura do porto; collaborated with bureau alexander brodsky and asse architects in moscow; guest professor at Yale School of Architecture. architect at fala since 2014; partner since 2021.

ana lima

miramar, pt, 1987; graduated in architecture at faculdade de arquitectura do porto with an exchange year in ljubljana; collaborated with mono, christian kerez and reto pedrocchi. architect at fala since 2013.

joana sendas

yes, the one and only: she is back.

joão carlos lopes

leiria, pt, 1991; graduated in architecture at universidade de évora with an exchange year in dresden; collaborated with rui mendes, ricardo bak gordon and pedro matos gameiro. architect at fala since 2021.

joão baptista

sintra, pt, 2001; graduated in architecture at iscte and ku leuven, with an exchange semester in kyungpook national university; collaborated with bovenbouw in antwerp, buolzuend in basel and nwlnd in ghent. architect at fala since 2026.

zhenxiao yang

xuancheng, cn, 2000; graduated in architecture from tongji university in shanghai; currently studying architecture at accademia di architettura di mendrisio; collaborated with hui pan in shaoxing and wen'arch in suzhou; intern at fala since 2026.

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elias schmitz, lorena ojea espadas, ana catarina silva, catarina vilarinho, taewoo jin, mariana vieira da silva, hojoon jang, yujin lee, eduardo loureiro, madita müller, horace de pourtalès, celeste assal, joana sendas, angel palmerin, martina porcino, elisa acquistapace, andrea occelli, dolma garcia sherpa, francesca girardi, virginia ricceri, beatriz branco, anna murisasco, carina pannatier, sajoua ettahri, nina guyot, jana von wyl, kentaro hayashi, costanza favero, elisa sassi, paulo sousa, rute peixoto, rikke sandbugte, anyana zimmermann, clara pailler, camelia petre, christina kavoura, mariana silva, diogo paixão, ana sevo, chiara carraro, julia andreychenko, thea orderud, ricardo leitão, francisco rocha, jack huang, gabriela králova, francesca lantieri, and jacopo lugli

Publications

> AV Monograph
a+u #637
2G #80
amag pt #14
space magazine kr #698
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ceci n’est pas un portrait
1961 – 1992 Japan
butterflies
fala 01
—
Bauwelt
av proyectos (#098 & #123)
Arquitecturaviva (#256)
L'Architecture d’Aujourd’hui
Butterflies
werk, bauen + wohnen
Daidalos
trans magazine
The Architect's Newspaper
The RIBA Journal
The Architectural Review
jornal dos arquitectos
metropolis
Rice Design Alliance
New York Magazine
an interior
dwell
domus
Igloo & Zeppelin
Drawing Matter
What Is A House For?
tracés

Exhibitions

ceci n’est pas un portrait, baião
hånd og maskin; the national museum, oslo
pictures; architekturgalerie, stuttgart
os novos novos; ccb, lisbon
em casa; ccb, lisbon
objects of fascination; mad, brussels
está nos desenhos; eaum, guimarães
in memoriam; yale university
architects at play; civa, brussels
alternative histories; the architecture foundation, london
what is ornament; lisbon architecture triennial
cats & columns; casa da cerca, almada
incerteza viva; portuguese pavilion, venice biennale
low-resolution houses; princeton school of architecture
room of plinths; chicago architecture biennial
spaces without drama; graham foundation, chicago
25 architects / 5 absent; pavillon de l’arsenal, paris
open house porto
open house lisbon
the state of the art of architecture; chicago architecture biennial
fala, 21 projects; cvernovka, bratislava
anticlimax; lisbon architecture triennial
p.o.p.; storefront gallery, new york

Lectures

a difficult whole; yale, barcelona
a difficult whole; vilnius, ghent, aarhus
good housing; barcelona, kyoto, epfl lausanne
houses, houses, houses, houses; mexico city, buenos aires
as of today; eth zurich
archipelagos; athens
10 years; passos manuel, porto
La Villa Baizeau à Carthage; enau, tunis
houses are; arkitektforening, oslo
clocks and clouds; centennial hall, tokyo tech, usi mendrisio
six projects; tokyo university of arts
gloriously repeating; rice university, houston
constructing practice; gsapp, new york
polyphonic repertoire; bozar, brussels
methodic optimism; garage museum, moscow
cornice conversations; eth zurich
on transformations; s am, basel
fictions in vivo; eavt paris-est
portraits; graham foundation, chicago
europa; british pavilion, venice biennale
some houses; university of toronto
recent works; tu delft
tropes; architectural association, london
methodic optimism; barbican, london
borders; riba, london
current obsessions; bauhaus, weimar
circumstance; tu munich
persistency; casa dell’architettura, rome
task failed successfully; politecnico di milano
folly for an art piece; serralves foundation, porto
dots, lines & morphemes; faup, porto

Teaching

(2027) university of tokyo
2026 > Yale School of Architecture
2024 > epfl lausanne
2021 > eavt paris-est
2019 > head geneva
2023—25 università di genova
2021—23 politecnico di milano
2020—21 university of toronto
2019—24 iscte lisbon
2019—20 royal academy of arts
2016—17 fa bratislava

guest critics:
usi mendrisio
eth zurich
epfl lausanne
gsapp new york
Aarhus fa
kth stockholm
cologne fa
northumbria fa
faup porto

guest tutors:
tu munich
iuav venice
porto academy
eavt paris-est
hda graz
fa muenster
fa liège

Honours

spotlight award 2020, rice university; winner (fala)
bigmat 2025; proximity award (082)
secil prize 2023; finalist (082)
prémio manuel graça dias; honourable mention (082)
prémio jovens arquitectos 2025; winner (082)
drawing matter writing prize 2021; winner (ahmed belkhodja)
mies van der rohe award 2022; nominated project (075)
mies van der rohe award 2019; nominated project (048)
prémios forma 2026; finalist (144)
prémios forma 2025; finalist (156)
debut award 2013, lisbon triennale; finalist (fala)
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public competition, lisbon (pt); 1st prize (184)
public competition, almada (pt); 1st prize (173)
public competition, setubal (pt); 1st prize (172)
public competition, malmö (se); 2nd prize (211)
public competition, tinne (it); 2nd prize (170)
pre-selected competition, kortrijk (be); 2nd prize (111)
public competition, lausanne (ch); 3rd prize (220)
public competition, almada (pt); 3rd prize (209)
pre-selected competition, tirana (alb); 3rd prize (188)
pre-selected competition, tienen (be); 3rd prize (158)
public competition, la sallaz (ch); 4th prize (204)
public competition, broc (ch); finalist (193)

Writings

fala does not get distracted

a poem

a floating feather in the city

the world as form

on joy in architecture

in the manner of fala

art of love

can incomprehensibility be structured?

an architecture that was not asked for

a song of ice and fire

Stating the evident

wild juxtapositions by way of a confusing vocabulary

the disorienting column

itsuko hasegawa, capturing an infinite distance

seriously playful

gloriously repeating

the pictures generation

do not copy

post-possible architecture

on the multivalence of drawing

topology and tracing paper

Index

229 , 228 , 227 , 226 , 225 , 224 , 223 , 222 , 221 , 220 , 219 , 218 , 217 , 216 , 215 , 214 , 213 , 212 , 211 , 210 , 209 , 208 , 207 , 206 , 205 , 204 , 203 , 202 , 201 , 200 , 199 , 198 , 197 , 196 , 195 , 194 , 193 , 192 , 191 , 190 , 189 , 188 , 187 , 186 , 185 , 184 , 183 , 182 , 181 , 180 , 179 , 178 , 177 , 176 , 175 , 174 , 173 , 172 , 171 , 170 , 169 , 168 , 167 , 166 , 165 , 164 , 163 , 162 , 161 , 160 , 159 , 158 , 157 , 156 , 155 , 154 , 153 , 152 , 151 , 150 , 149 , 148 , 147 , 146 , 145 , 144 , 143 , 142 , 141 , 140 , 139 , 138 , 137 , 136 , 135 , 134 , 133 , 132 , 131 , 130 , 129 , 128 , 127 , 126 , 125 , 124 , 123 , 122 , 121 , 120 , 119 , 118 , 117 , 116 , 115 , 114 , 113 , 112 , 111 , 110 , 109 , 108 , 107 , 106 , 105 , 104 , 103 , 102 , 101 , 100 , 099 , 098 , 097 , 096 , 095 , 094 , 093 , 092 , 091 , 090 , 089 , 088 , 087 , 086 , 085 , 084 , 083 , 082 , 081 , 080 , 079 , 078 , 077 , 076 , 075 , 074 , 073 , 072 , 071 , 070 , 069 , 068 , 067 , 066 , 065 , 064 , 063 , 062 , 061 , 060 , 059 , 058 , 057 , 056 , 055 , 054 , 053 , 052 , 051 , 050 , 049 , 048 , 047 , 046 , 045 , 044 , 043 , 042 , 041 , 040 , 039 , 038 , 037 , 036 , 035 , 034 , 033 , 032 , 031 , 030 , 029 , 028 , 027 , 026 , 025 , 024 , 023 , 022 , 021 , 020 , 019 , 018 , 017 , 016 , 015 , 014 , 013 , 012 , 011 , 010 , 009 , 008 , 007 , 006 , 005 , 004 , 003 , 002 , 001 , all

clients

ihru ( 173 , 172 ) ;

sru lisboa ( 184 ) ;

maat museum ( 185 , 113 ) ;

serralves museum ( 068 ) ;

horst music festival ( 107 ) ;

lisbon triennale ( 004 ) ;

marco martins ( 189 ) ;

circo de ideias ( 201 ) ;

galeria municipal do porto ( 119 ) ;

teatro rivoli ( 074 ) ;

fora ( 218 ) ;

fuschini ( 225 ) ;

migrant garden ( 033 ) ;

frontal ( 042 ) ;

aefaup ( 009 ) ;

private ( 224 , 215 , 214 , 197 , 196 , 194 , 186 , 182 , 180 , 179 , 171 , 167 , 157 , 156 , 150 , 144 , 143 , 141 , 136 , 129 , 125 , 123 , 118 , 114 , 102 , 101 , 098 , 097 , 094 , 090 , 088 , 087 , 086 , 085 , 082 , 081 , 079 , 077 , 075 , 072 , 070 , 069 , 067 , 059 , 058 , 057 , 056 , 052 , 051 , 050 , 048 , 043 , 040 , 031 , 030 , 025 , 023 )

Collaborations

pomo ( 203 , 184 , 180 , 179 , 178 , 173 , 172 , 171 , 167 , 156 , 150 , 141 , 114 , 102 , 097 , 094 , 090 , 088 , 087 , 085 , 082 , 079 , 075 , 072 , 067 , 059 , 058 , 057 , 052 , 048 ) ;

paulo sousa ( 118 , 102 , 101 , 098 , 097 , 094 , 090 , 088 , 087 , 086 , 085 , 082 , 081 , 079 , 077 , 075 , 072 , 070 , 069 , 068 , 067 , 059 , 058 , 057 , 056 , 052 , 051 , 050 , 048 , 043 , 042 , 040 , 033 , 031 , 030 , 023 ) ;

márcio pimenta ( 200 , 197 , 186 , 184 , 182 , 180 , 179 , 173 , 172 , 167 , 157 , 156 , 150 , 144 , 143 , 141 , 129 , 125 , 123 , 118 , 102 , 101 , 097 , 094 , 088 , 087 , 085 , 082 , 069 ) ;

sicóproject ( 219 , 216 , 184 , 178 , 166 , 165 ) ;

and atelier ( 184 , 173 ) ;

atelier local ( 214 ) ;

experimental ( 184 , 173 , 172 ) ;

ziemia ( 172 ) ;

util struktuurstudies + onkruid ( 107 ) ;

oh land ( 051 , 050 ) ;

bimtec ( 056 ) ;

sandra shizuka ( 004 ) ;

Construction

civiflanco ( 218 , 215 , 179 , 150 , 144 , 136 , 098 , 097 , 090 , 088 , 082 , 075 , 069 , 057 ) ;

calipa ( 182 , 143 , 125 , 102 , 101 , 085 ) ;

maxrenova ( 224 , 203 , 194 , 171 , 114 , 070 , 058 ) ;

novos construtores ( 156 , 141 ) ;

ferreira leite ( 180 , 167 , 166 ) ;

tecnorém ( 172 ) ;

engilaco ( 086 , 067 , 059 , 048 ) ;

ruce ( 081 , 052 , 030 ) ;

ogc ( 123 , 094 , 087 ) ;

rbt ( 077 ) ;

mribeiro ( 118 ) ;

artworks ( 201 , 189 ) ;

jst ( 079 , 068 , 051 , 050 ) ;

sr mesquita ( 196 ) ;

manuel maia ( 042 , 031 ) ;

asv ( 072 , 023 ) ;

joph ( 072 ) ;

tijolo cruzado ( 056 , 043 , 040 ) ;

civilcasa ( 056 ) ;

dejc ( 025 )

Photography

francisco ascensão ( ceci n’est pas un portrait , 225 , 224 , 218 , 215 , 214 , 203 , 201 , 196 , 194 , 189 , 185 , 179 , 171 , 167 , 156 , 150 , 144 , 143 , 125 , 118 , 114 , 102 , 101 , 097 , 094 , 087 , 085 , 082 , 067 , 056 ) ;

giulietta margot ( ugly ducks , 203 , 200 , 194 , 185 , 182 , 180 , 179 , 171 , 156 , 150 , 144 , 143 , 136 , 129 , 125 , 123 , 118 , 114 , 102 , 101 , 098 , 097 , 094 , 088 , 087 , 085 , 082 , 081 , 079 , 077 , 075 , 072 , 069 , 067 , 057 , 056 , 052 , 051 , 050 , 048 , 033 , 030 , 023 ) ;

rory gardiner ( 179 , 167 , 143 , 102 , 097 , 085 , 082 , 075 , 067 , 048 ) ;

lera samovich ( lera's cut outs , 224 , 215 , 203 , 201 , 196 , 194 , 184 , 182 , 180 , 179 , 173 , 171 , 167 , 156 , 150 , 144 , 143 , 141 , 125 , 123 , 102 , 097 , 094 , 087 , 085 , 082 , 067 , 048 ) ;

maxime delvaux ( 107 ) ;

frederico martinho ( 079 ) ;

paulo catrica ( 079 , 068 ) ;

flávio pires ( 156 , 150 , 125 , 097 , 079 , 056 , 042 , 033 , 031 , 025 ) ;

willem pab ( 098 , 085 ) ;

laurian ghinitoiu ( 090 , 088 , 079 , 075 , 067 ) ;

federico farinatti ( 114 , 085 ) ;

jack huang ( 098 , 088 , 079 , 067 ) ;

celeste assal ( 150 , 067 ) ;

francesca girardi ( 085 , 075 , 067 ) ;

estelle valente ( 189 ) ;

elias schmitz ( 203 , 171 , 167 , 150 , 143 , 118 , 114 , 102 , 098 , 085 , 067 ) ;

matilde viegas ( 082 ) ;

inês d’orey ( 056 ) ;

joana ribeiro ( 179 ) ;

horst festival ( 107 ) ;

ivo tavares ( 179 , 136 , 125 , 118 , 114 , 102 , 101 , 097 , 094 , 087 , 085 , 082 , 079 , 077 , 056 , 051 , 050 , 023 ) ;

ricardo loureiro ( 090 , 088 , 086 , 081 , 075 , 074 , 072 , 070 , 068 , 067 , 059 , 058 , 057 , 056 , 052 , 051 , 048 , 030 , 023 ) ;

fernando guerra ( 043 , 040 , 025 , 004 ) ;

francisco nogueira ( 156 , 113 , 087 ) ;

antónio lopes ( 009 ) ;

bruno lança ( 201 ) ;

daniel malhão ( 113 ) ;

luís albuquerque ( 090 , 085 , 082 , 079 , 075 , 067 , 048 )

Applications

fala is currently not hiring. spontaneous applications should be sent by email to mail@falaatelier.com with a digital portfolio in pdf format.

Privacy

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