Born in Matosinhos, Portugal, in 1933. He earned his degree in Architecture from the School of Fine Arts of Porto in 1955. He received his Doctorate in Architecture from the Faculty of Architecture of Porto in 1966. He was a collaborator and assistant professor to Fernando Távora between 1955 and 1958, and a professor at the School of Fine Arts of Porto from 1966 to 1969. Since 1976, he has been an Associate Professor of Construction at the Faculty of Architecture of Porto.

He has served as a Visiting Professor at the Polytechnic School of Lausanne, the University of Pennsylvania, the School of Los Andes in Bogotá, and the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University.

His work has been exhibited in: Copenhagen (1975), Aarhus (1976), Barcelona (1976), Venice (1978), Milan (1979), Museum of Architecture in Helsinki (1982), Alvar Aalto Museum in Jyväskylä (1982), Institute of Contemporary Arts in London (1983), Stichting Wonen in Amsterdam (1983), Technische Hogeschool in Delft (1984), School of Fine Arts of Porto (1984), Galeria Almada Negreiros (1984), International Building Exhibition (IBA) in Berlin (1987 and 1989), Paris Biennale (1985), Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge (1988), 9H Gallery in London (1986), Columbia University in New York (1987), Harvard Graduate School of Design in Cambridge (1988), Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (1990), and the Exhibition Gallery of the Ministry of Public Works and Urbanism in Madrid (1990).

He has participated in seminars and congresses and has delivered lectures in Portugal, Spain, Germany, France, Norway, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, England, Colombia, Argentina, Canada, and the United States.

He won First Prize in several International Competitions: Schelisches Tor in Berlin (1984), restoration of the Campo di Marte in Venice (1985), renovation of the Winkler Casino in Salzburg (1986), “A Project for Siena” (1988), and the Cultural Center for Defense in Madrid (1988).

He is Director of the Schilderseijk Redevelopment Plan in The Hague and the Reconstruction of the Chiado district in Lisbon.

He has received the National Architecture Prize in Portugal (1982), the International Association of Art Critics Award, and the National Architecture Prize of the Portuguese Association of Architects (1987). In 1988, he was awarded the Gold Medal for Architecture by the Higher Council of Architects of Spain, the Gold Medal of the Alvar Aalto Foundation in Finland, the Prince of Wales Prize from Harvard University in England, and the European Architecture Prize from the Commission of the European Communities – Mies van der Rohe Foundation.

Among his main projects underway in Spain are:

Museum of Contemporary Art of Galicia (Santiago). Cultural Center for Defense in Madrid. Portal de Riquer in Alcoy. Housing in Concepción Arenal (Cádiz). Bonaval Restaurant and Garden in Santiago. Library of the Universitat de València Estudi General. Sports Complex in Villanueva de Arosa.

Another important project in Spain is the Catalonia Meteorological Service and the headquarters of the Coastal Delegation of the Ministry of Public Works in Barcelona.