João Albuquerque began his BIGster journey at BIG Copenhagen in 2008, eventually moving to Barcelona in 2019 to support the establishment of a strong foundation for BIG Barcelona. In 2019 became the Design Director of the Barcelona office and in 2021 was named Partner. Recently, Joao has been leading projects throughout Spain, Potugal, the Mediterranean, and South America – among others, the new office campus for Farfetch in Porto and a new highly sustainable office building in Barcelona. João works effectively in BIG’s creative environment, regularly leading design teams on projects from competitions through Schematic Design and Design Development phases. João brings an incisive approach to exploring the intersection between computational technologies and architecture — programming and parametrics — and applies this research on many scales, from design conceptualization to fabrication and construction. He also has experience working in various typologies such as masterplans, including Europa City in Paris and the winning proposals for cultural neighborhoods in both Qiddya and South Korea; high-rise tower designs, including the completed Shenzhen Energy Mansion in China; cultural designs, including the Adelaide Contemporary Gallery and the Museum of Fine Arts in Bilbao; and research-based projects, such as the new building vernacular for future life on Mars. João completed his Master of Architecture at the University of Sciences and Technology of Coimbra, in Portugal and achieved a post-graduate MAA degree from IAAC in Barcelona, having his thesis project being exhibited at the 2011 Beijing Biennale and the Museu del Disseny of Barcelona.