organizations : : objects : : architecture : :  urbanism 

Established in 2015, OOAU develops tailor-made design solutions at the urban, architecture, object and organizational level. The company offers a wide range of services: from original concept designs to development and optimization of existing ones; from consultancy on design strategies and design management to advice on quality management and knowledge sharing within organizations.

Over its first years of activity, OOAU has advised architectural practices, contractors and private clients, in Doha, Rio de Janeiro, Paris, Berlin and Lisbon. It also established several project-based associations for larger developments in Portugal and abroad.

 

services

 

organizations ::

| standards | processes | contracts | knowledge management | scalability |

objects : :

| product design | design 2 production | prototyping | material research |

architecture : :

| integral design | geometry | buildability & value | parametrization |

urbanism : :

| data and functional analysis | infrastructure and program | policy |

 

efficiency or efficacy

A creative activity can seldom be truly efficient. The zeroing on the perfect solution that satisfies all tangible and intangible variables of a client’s brief requires a willingness to try different paths that may turn out to be dead ends. It is the nature of creativity and innovation. All the more reasons to aim at efficacy.

To achieve an effective design or organization, the opportunity for creative exploration must be maximized. That requires the implementation of effective procedures that streamline the processes that are needed but not directly conductive to achieve the goals. This means that recurrent tasks can become common standardized and repetitive task may be automatized, releasing resources to fulfill the central ambitions of the design or organization.

maximum effect minimum effort

Value creation through design is central to our approach. The cultural or social value of a design needs to be balanced with the short and long term investment (economic value) of its production and maintenance, as well as the environmental impact and return (value). A good understanding of new and old materials, as well as of actual and current production and building methods, leads to solutions that may look intricate or complex but are achieved in a cost-effective manner.

 

 

projects

 

nuno almeida

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Nuno Almeida is a European registered architect with over 20 years of international experience. He has a degree from the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Oporto and is a registered architect with Ordem dos Arquitectos since 1998. Following experiences in Barcelona, Copenhagen, Berlin, Porto, and Rotterdam, he worked at UNStudio (Amsterdam) from 1999 to 2014, where he became of Associate Director / Senior Architect.

In 2015, he returned to Portugal, where he founded OOAU – Design Consulting. 

Nuno Almeida has amassed extensive experience in leading large-scale international designs of high complexity (both in terms of their geometrical/design intricacy and political/strategic sensitivity) in several parts of the world. He managed large design teams on all phases of the design process – from conceptual design, through to integrated design development and construction documentation.

He plays an active role in both the design creation, optimization, and buildability, and in the management of large multidisciplinary teams and the different stakeholders involved.

Besides his designing experience, Nuno also actively participated in the UNStudio’s balanced growth, from a 20-something-employee design practice, to a 120-plus-employee architectural company, while maintaining both the design ambition and the quality that first brought UNStudio to the forefront of the architectural discourse. During this time, Nuno performed several key roles ranging from early organizational changes related to the ISO Quality Certification in 2001, to the implementation of R&D programs and Knowledge Management strategies, that allowed their adaptation to ever-larger projects, cutting-edge geometries and industry technological advances.

Nuno Almeida has lectured and taught at several universities and congresses, on architecture and urban design, on design parametrization and representation, and on knowledge sharing methodologies.

 
 

articles

(only available in published language)

Fachadismo: a morte da (autenti)cidade de Lisboa | PUBLICO 14 março 2017

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                                                                                             O debate sobre a intervenção nos centros urbanos chegou a um novo patamar com a queixa na justiça contra o edifício projetado por Souto de Moura na Praça das Flores. É uma situação preocupante que põe em causa a capacidade dos arquitetos intervirem originalmente nos centros urbanos quando já existem diversos obstáculos à renovação arquitetónica dos centros históricos. O resultado será uma cidade cada vez mais presa ao passado, superficial e desinteressante, uma Veneza a tender cada vez mais para o Venetian de Las Vegas, uma caricatura de si mesma sofrendo uma gradual desertificação cultural e de população, mais pobre mas mais cara.

Link ao artigo

Aqui não há Ordem, só organização | Jornal Arquitectos J-A 250 2014

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Nas últimas décadas, o êxito da arquitectura holandesa não se ficou a dever (apenas) ao talento dos arquitectos holandeses. Nos anos de 1990, o investimento do Estado holandês na promoção da arquitectura foi amplo e estruturado, não se limitando à valorização de obras singulares que beneficiam escritórios de uma certa dimensão e/ou nome. Por exemplo, o programa VINEX promoveu mais de uma centena de projectos de habitação de grande escala, que beneficiaram um grande número de escritórios de diferente dimensão, prática e experiência. Em paralelo, no final dos anos de 1980, a criação do Instituto Holandês de Arquitectura (NAI) instigou o debate cultural sobre arquitectura, seguindo uma estratégia de programação orientada para o presente e para o futuro.

Link ao artigo

 
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contacts

We personalize and customize our services to meet your needs.

Please contact us to talk about how we can work together.

info@ooau.com

+351 91 552 6292 (.pt)

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