Atelier RUA

Lisbon, Portugal

Atelier RUA is a Lisbon-based architecture practice co-founded in 2006 by Francisco Garcia de Freitas, Luís Costa Valente, Paulo Vieira Borralho, and Rui Velho Didier, all graduates of the Universidade Lusíada de Lisboa. The 4 partners share experience working in European practices including Herzog & De Meuron and Mecanoo Architecten before establishing the studio. The practice works across architecture, urban planning, and design, with projects spanning housing, rehabilitation, public space, services, and exhibition spaces. The studio's identity is built around collective authorship rather than individual vision, with each project understood as the synthesis of shared thinking. Atelier RUA's hospitality work includes Casa Um and Casa Dois for The Addresses, a boutique guesthouse brand in the Algarve. Work has been published in Dezeen, Dwell, Designboom, and Divisare.