Profile

João Paulouro Neves is an architect based in Lisbon whose work specialises in the elimination of social barriers within cities through design and research into sociology, network theory, performance, and architecture – parts of which have been exhibited or published internationally. Presently a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Lisbon, his main research centres on the development of a configurational/network history and theory of liminal spaces and socio-spatial division within cities.

Previously graduated from MIArch in Architecture at Universidade Lusiada in Lisbon with ‘Multi-Pli-Cities’, a thesis and research project on theories and strategies for multicultural urban environments, and BSc Architecture at University College London, he has worked in architecture and urban design offices in Rome, London, and Lisbon, on housing, commercial, and institutional projects, as well as environmental mapping and analysis.

João Neves has also produced video projections for ‘Sol VIII’ directed by Jung Yoo at the Cochrane Theatre and for ‘Scratch Opera – The Capsule’ directed by Julia Hollander at the Battersea Arts Centre, as well as producing urban installations and interventions in London. He is a founding member of Animate:Space, a London-based interdisciplinary company that along with scenographers and performers aims to bring to life static spaces in the city through their re-design, use, and transformation. He sees this as a multi-disciplinary effort in filling the socio-urban voids of modern cities. He is especially interested in designing for cosmopolitan sites using a multi-disciplinary approach and experimentation in video, performance, and architecture to confront identity issues within modern urban spaces.