Three Porto Architects Live and Work Together in One Playfully Pragmatic Building

Over the course of the pandemic, the relationship between work and home life became fraught and complicated for many people around the world. But for the three cofounders of Porto’s Fala Atelier, very little changed: They live and work in the same building, which they renovated themselves.

"All of our career is about us giving stupid answers to logical questions, and being at the right place at the right time," Filipe Magalhães says in a cool-headed deadpan as he settles in around a table in the office kitchen. Across the table is his partner, Ana Luisa Soares, who cofounded the architecture studio with Filipe and Ahmed Belkhodja in 2013. Also present is Lera Samovich, who first worked for Fala as an intern in 2014, before joining the team permanently in 2016. She’s now a partner in the firm—although she lives off-site.