The Shape of Neighbourhood

The Shape of Neighbourhood is an architecture and art festival that promotes co-creation processes between architects, artists, and local residents, with the aim of imagining and activating new spaces for gathering, interaction, and community life.

The festival takes place across several densely populated residential areas of Braga—Fujacal, Fontainhas, Quinta da Capela, Makro, and Parretas—as well as in the city’s urban gardens located in Quinta da Armada, Quinta das Lameiras, and São Vicente. Through collaborative design and artistic intervention, the project explores how public spaces can foster stronger connections between people, places, and communities.

In 2025, the festival commissioned and presented eight temporary architectural installations, each designed to host performances and artistic activations by invited artists. These structures also served as meeting points for neighbourhood initiatives, collective gatherings, and community-led activities, encouraging new forms of engagement with and appropriation of public space.

The first edition of The Shape of Neighbourhood brought together architects, artists, collectives, and local communities, including Manuel Bouzas, Parto Atelier, Patrícia da Silva, Nuno Melo Sousa, ATA Atelier, Limit Architecture Studio, RAM, Atelier Local, the communities of Fontainhas, Fujacal, Makro, Parretas, and Quinta da Capela, the urban gardens of Quinta da Armada, Quinta das Lameiras, and São Vicente, as well as Zabra, G. Ciríaco & A. Sonnberger, Frame Colectivo, A Recoletora, Soraia Gomes Teixeira, Landra, Inês Neto dos Santos, and Daniel Parnitzke.

By bringing together architecture, artistic creation, and community participation, Forma da Vizinhança contributes to the development of more inclusive, collaborative, and meaningful public spaces.

The Shape of Neighbourhood is a legacy project of Braga 25 – Portuguese Capital of Culture.

Curators: Space Transcribers

Follow the project: Website

Partners

Echo Coletivo;  Circo de Ideias;  Canal 180; Trienal de Arquitetura de Lisboa; Fundação  RIA;  ArtWorks; Espaço de arquitetura; Finsa;  Xilonor;  Dstgroup; Katoa; Navarra; Btherm; Ronox; Cornell AAP – Architecture Art Planning; Nada Novo; União de Freguesias de São João do Souto e São Lázaro; Junta de Freguesia de São Vicente; União de Freguesias de Maximinos Sé e Cividade; Junta de Freguesia de São Victor; União de Freguesias de Nogueiró e Tenões; Associação de Moradores do Fujacal e Conselheiro Lobato; Associação de Moradores da Quinta da Capela; Pastelaria Alma Doce;  Café Flor da Venezuela; TUB; Agere; Braga Habit; CNAD – Centro Nacional de Arte, Artesanato e Design; Arquivo Municipal de Braga