João Luís Carrilho da Graça (b. 1952, Portalegre) graduated in architecture from the Lisbon Fine Arts School in 1977. In the same year, he began working, as well as lecturing at the Faculty of Architecture of the Technical University of Lisbon between 1977 and 1992. He has taught at the Autónoma University since 2001, at the University of Évora since 2005 and was an invited professor at the Navarra University Architecture School in 2007 and 2010. Carrilho da Graça has given lectures at seminars and conferences at several international universities and received prestigious distinctions, such as the honoris causa doctorate from the Lisbon Technical University in 2013; the Medal from Académie d’Architecture Française in 2012, the title “Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres” by the French Republic in 2010; the Pessoa Prize in 2008 and the Order for Merit of the Portuguese Republic in 1999.

His work has also garnered important awards and prizes, such as the AIT award 2012 for the Carpinteira Pedestrian Bridge; the Sacra Frate-Sole 2012 for Portalegre’s Santo António Church; the Piranesi Prix de Rome 2010 for the São Jorge Castle Archaeological Museum; the Valmor Prize in 2008 for the Lisbon Music School; in 1998 for the Expo ‘98 Knowledge of the Seas Pavilion (also FAD Award in 1999) and the SECIL Prize in 1994 for Lisbon’s Communication and Media Studies School.