João Carmo Simões
Founder and Director, MArch OA

João grew up in Cascais. After completing his master’s degree in architecture at Da/UAL Lisbon, he was a recipient of the National Secil Universities Award 2010. Believing that the quality of the environment that surrounds us directly affects the quality of our lives, and driven by his passion for innovation and excellence, in 2012, he founded his own studio in Lisbon. Among his designs are Villas, Apartments, renovations in historic and modern buildings, School Complexes and interventions in heritage. His works were highlighted in the Monocle and Observador Lifestyle magazines and in the books Portugal: The Monocle Handbook and Portuguese Modern Apartments. He is regularly guest lecturer in several universities. He was Assistant Professor at Estúdio Vertical #2 “Stones Are Alive”, coordinated by João Luís Carrilho da Graça, at Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa (2020).

He is co-founder of the publisher Monade books with a global reach, promoting excellence in architecture thinking and research. His publications include editions on Pritzkers prizes like Álvaro Siza or Paulo Mendes da Rocha. He is author of the book Civitas São Paulo, distinguished for shortlist of the DAM - Deutsches ArchitekturMuseum Architectural Book Award for best architecture book of 2019. He was a member of the Portuguese Council of Architects, the Board of General Assembly (2019-2023) and the National Admissions Council (2014-2016).His work was recently nominated for the EUmies Award 2024 European Union Prize for Architecture. João is a keen skipper, enjoys sailing and photography.

Awards