ROUTE
FORMA DA VIZINHANÇA
ARCHITECTURE AND ART FESTIVAL
ARCHITECTURE AND ART FESTIVAL
FORMA DA VIZINHANÇA (SHAPE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD) is a festival of architecture and art taking place in Braga, Portugal between June and November 2025, curated by the architectural research duo Space Transcribers (Fernando P. Ferreira and Daniel Duarte Pereira), as part of Braga 25 Portuguese Capital of Culture.
The festival offers a critical reading of the contemporary city of Braga, centred around two key themes: the urban growth of the past five decades of Portuguese democracy — particularly in residential areas surrounding the historic centre — and the evolving concept of “neighbourhood,” shaped today by digital networks and more-than-human ways of living.
The festival arises from a process of listening and mediation that began in 2024, in partnership with Echo Colectivo, through workshops, visits, and meetings with residents and associations in eight locations across Braga (five housing neighbourhoods and three urban gardens). The stories, memories, and dynamics gathered in these contexts served as the foundation for creating the festival.
The festival arises from a process of listening and mediation that began in 2024, in partnership with Echo Colectivo, through workshops, visits, and meetings with residents and associations in eight locations across Braga (five housing neighbourhoods and three urban gardens). The stories, memories, and dynamics gathered in these contexts served as the foundation for creating the festival.
In 2025, FORMA DA VIZINHANÇA (SHAPE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD) will inhabit these eight locations with temporary architectural installations, designed by eight national and international invited architecture teams: Manuel Bouzas, Parto Atelier, Patricia da Silva, Nuno Melo Sousa, ATA Atelier, LIMIT Architecture Studio, RAM and Atelier Local. These installations become the stage for the “neighbourhood activations,” led by invited artists and designers: ZABRA, Gustavo Ciríaco with Andrea Sonnberger, Frame Colectivo, A Recoletora, Soraia Gomes Teixeira, Landra, Inês Neto dos Santos and Daniel Parnitzke. Each activation proposes a unique artistic approach — from walks and workshops to performances and shared meals — culminating in a public moment of gathering.
By shifting the focus beyond Braga’s historic centre, the festival traces an alternative cultural and architectural route through the city — one that invites a critical rediscovery of the urban fabric shaped over five decades of democracy. These neighbourhoods emerge as stages for encounter, care and collective imagination, where human and more-than-human relations open up new modes of inhabiting the built environment.
By shifting the focus beyond Braga’s historic centre, the festival traces an alternative cultural and architectural route through the city — one that invites a critical rediscovery of the urban fabric shaped over five decades of democracy. These neighbourhoods emerge as stages for encounter, care and collective imagination, where human and more-than-human relations open up new modes of inhabiting the built environment.
TEAM AND COLLABORATIONS
FORMA DA VIZINHANÇA (SHAPE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD) is structured as a collective and situated festival, developed through an extended network of collaboration among professionals, institutions, and local communities. The festival is supported by public and private entities connected to culture, architecture, and urban and social development.
FORMA DA VIZINHANÇA (SHAPE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD) is structured as a collective and situated festival, developed through an extended network of collaboration among professionals, institutions, and local communities. The festival is supported by public and private entities connected to culture, architecture, and urban and social development.
CURATORSHIP AND ARTISTIC DIRECTION
Space Transcribers – Daniel Duarte Pereira and Fernando P. FerreiraPRODUCTION
Felícia Teixeira
MEDIATION
Echo Colectivo – Léa Prisca López and João Rosa
INVITED ARCHITECTURE TEAMS
Manuel Bouzas, Parto Atelier, Patricia da Silva, Nuno Melo Sousa, ATA Atelier, LIMIT Architecture Studio, RAM, Atelier Local
INVITED ARTISTS/DESIGNERS
ZABRA, Gustavo Ciríaco e Andrea Sonnberger, Frame Colectivo, A Recoletora, Soraia Gomes Teixeira, Landra, Inês Neto dos Santos, Daniel Parnitzke
GRAPHIC DESIGN
João Queirós and Carolina Feijó
COMUNICATION
Marta Sofia Silva
PHOTOGRAPHY
Francisco Ascensão
João Roldão
Tiago Lopes
Rafael Farias
DESIGN AND EDITORIAL COORDINATION
Ana Resende Editorial
PUBLISHER
Circo de Ideias
PRODUCTION AND ASSEMBLY OF ARCHITECTURAL INSTALLATIONS
Artworks, Barcelestufas, Carpimestre, ElectroSilva, Katoa, Liarc, Ronox, Utilbébé
BRAGA 25
PROMOTERS
Faz Cultura – Braga Municipal Cultural Company E.M.
Municipality of Braga
EXECUTIVE COORDINATION
Joana Meneses Fernandes
MEDIATION AND PARTICIPATION
Cláudia Cibrão
EXTERNAL RELATIONS AND PRODUCTION
Natacha Correia
PRODUCTION AND MEDIATION
Carolina Cardoso
PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND PROGRAMMING SUPPORT
Ana Brito
ARTISTIC PROGRAM COORDINATION
Luís Fernandes, Ilídio Marques, Sara Borges, Maria Inês Marques
COMMUNICATION DIRECTION
Samuel Silva
COMMUNICATION AND DIGITAL STRATEGY
Mariana Volz, José Dantas
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
MUNICIPALITY OF BRAGA
Dr. Olga Pereira (Councillor for Public Space Management and Maintenance), Jorge Louro, Tânia Maia, Maria José Alves, Alzira Torres, André Dantas, Pedro Varandas
AGERE
Daniela Vieira
TUB
Luciano Duarte