Carlos Antunes, from Coimbra, and Désirée Pedro, from Mozambique, form a couple of architects who have been charting a successful path in the field of contemporary architecture. They left Coimbra for “Miranda do Corvo” and it was there that they opened “Atelier do Corvo”, in 1996. Since then, several of their projects have been recognized, for example: the remodeling of the Laboratorio Chímico of the Science Museum of the University of Coimbra was distinguished, in 2007, with the Diogo de Castilho Prize and the APOM (Associação Portuguesa de Museologia) Honorable Mention; in 2019, they were distinguished again with the Nuno Teotónio Pereira Prize for the rehabilitation of the “Cerâmica Antiga de Coimbra” building, in “Terreiro da Erva”, a project co-authored with the architect Luísa Bebiano.
Since 2010, Carlos and Désirée have taken over the direction of the “Círculo de Artes Plásticas de Coimbra” (CAPC), the oldest national institution dedicated to the promotion of contemporary art and which holds an art collection that constitutes in itself “a unique document in the narrative of the history of contemporary art in Portugal”.
In 2015, under the direction of the architect couple, CAPC created the initiative “AnoZero – Bienal de Arte Contemporânea de Coimbra” which proposes a confrontation between contemporary art and the city’s cultural heritage, in relation to the distinction of the University of Coimbra, Alta and Sofia as UNESCO World Heritage. In 2016, also under the direction of Carlos and Désirée, the CAPC building was classified as a Monument of Public Interest by the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, a recognition of everything that, until then, had been done by the Circle.
More recently, in December 2024, the architect couple opened “aloja”, on “Rua Guerra Junqueiro”, a showcase, a gallery for objects designed by artists, architects and designers, “moving freely between the limits of disciplines”.
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