Freelance journalism

I am a regular contributor to Wallpaper* Magazine and The Spaces, among others. Here is a selection of articles. You can also find me on Muckrack.

[The Spaces] Herdade da Malhadinha Nova is a rural paradise in the depths of Alentejo—A celebration of local culture

Deep in Alentejo, a family has spent two decades transforming its rich landscape and ruined buildings into a fruitful vineyard and boutique hotel.

(photo courtesy Herdade da Malhadinha Nova estate)

[The Spaces] Rural Portuguese retreats for slow-living—Where to enjoy social distancing at its best

Portugal is a year-round destination that’s as varied in landscape as it is rich in culture. From Alentejo’s verdant olive and cork fields to Costa Vicentina’s dramatic coastline, the Algarve’s charming fishing towns, and the Azores archipelago’s tropical, mysterious character in the middle of the Atlantic, Portugal has a lot to offer for travellers in search of a private getaway.

(photo courtesy Casa 1876)

[The Spaces] Lisbon’s 10 best new galleries—Fresh additions to its booming art scene

A vast warehouse in the industrial outskirts of Lisbon; a tiny garage capped with a pine wood structure; and a basement space next to restored medieval ruins. These are some of the extraordinary spaces hosting Lisbon’s booming art scene.

(photo courtesy Galeria Francisco Fino. ‘Installation view, ‘Morphogenesis’ group show curated by João Laia’)

[The Spaces]

OMA creates Blox – a jenga-like new design hub in Copenhagen

OMA has built a series of stacked boxes on Copenhagen’s harbour front housing Blox: a new design and architecture hub in of the capital’s oldest neighbourhoods.

(photo: Rasmus Hjortshøj – COAST)

[The Spaces] How Lisbon is protecting its historic shops—

Boosting the city’s retail heritage

When Caza das Vellas Loreto opened in Lisbon’s dense Chiado neighbourhood in 1789, it sold a product that was a technological revolution of its time – the candle – bringing with it easy, mobile lighting and changing the face of city life.

(photo:Miguel Savedra, Luis Aniceto)

[The Spaces] Why Portugal’s wild Comporta coastline should be your summer sanctuary

It’s budding with contemporary architecture

It was a warm Sunday morning in the summer of 1956 when José Manuel Espírito Santo first laid eyes on Portugal’s Herdade da Comporta from his sailboat, at that time deserted except for its rice fields and makeshift workers’ huts. He fell in love.

(photo: Cabanas no Rio, a duo of contemporary huts, designed by Aires Mateus in Comporta’s Sado Estuary Nature Reserve. Photography: Nelson Garrido)

[Wallpaper*] Timmerhuis: OMA unveil a cascading urban complex in Rotterdam

Agrey pixelated cloud rises from Rotterdam’s street level to form the city’s latest architectural addition. The Timmerhuis, created by Dutch super-practice OMA is an all-encompasing response to several starting points; it is an inner city, urban structure that unites office, public space and residential; it was conceived as a beacon of sustainability; and it is also a reflection on a city’s architectural identity. ’It is informal and monumental at the same time,’ explains OMA’s partner in charge Reinier De Graaf. ’It is a mirror of its own identity.’

Photography: Ossip van Duivenbode

[The Spaces] Havre 77: a derelict mansion becomes a coworking space in Mexico City

Architects Francisco Pardo and Julio Amezcua have transformed a crumbling 19th-century mansion into a mixed-use cultural venue in Mexico City’s Colonia Juárez neighbourhood.

(photo: Diana Arnau)

[The Spaces] An ode to Lisbon’s kiosks by photographer Richard John Seymour

Once obsolete, these staples of city life are making a comeback

Until just a few years ago, a ‘capilé’ would have been as unfamiliar to Lisbonites as to those outside of Portugal. Once a staple local tipple, made from maidenhair fern leaf syrup and essence of orange blossom, it slipped out of people’s consciousness as the city’s classic drinking and snacking spots – its historic kiosks – closed for business.

(photo: Richard John Seymour)

[Wallpaper*] Malmerendas — Porto, Portugal

There’s no shortage of chic accommodation options in Porto, Portugal’s ever growing tourist destination. And the latest to open its doors, is Malmerendas Boutique Lodging. Comprising just five rooms, the property is located just off the busy main street of up-and-coming downtown neighbourhood Mercado do Bolhão. Photography: Paulo Carvalho

[The Spaces] 4 young Portuguese architecture studios blazing a trail—

Ones to watch

Young architects are shaking up Portugal and building on the country’s stellar design reputation. We’ve picked out four Portuguese architecture studios working across the country whose projects are as varied as they are bold.

(photo: Richard John Seymour)

[The Spaces/CNN Style] Take a spin around Transylvania’s subterranean theme park—

From salt mine to playground

Deep in the Transylvanian countryside lies an ancient salt mine dating back over two millennia. Today Salina Turda has become an unlikely tourist attraction, with thousands of visitors descending its vertical shafts each year to play mini-golf, go bowling and row around its underground lake.

(photo: Richard John Seymour)

[The Spaces] OMA creates a new HQ for gunpowder artist Cai Guo Qiang—

Rethinking the role of the studio

Behind a red brick facade in New York’s East Village lies a burgeoning creative community. This freshly expanded hub is the headquarters of Cai Guo-Qiang – an artist best known for his gunpowder ‘drawings’ – who used its recent renovation as a chance to rethink what a studio could be.

(photo: Brett Beyer)

[Wallpaper*] Venice Architecture Biennale 2014 preview: the top 25 exhibitions to visit

This year's Venice Architecture Biennale is curated by Rem Koolhaas and takes the theme of Fundamentals. Set in the Corderie of the Arsenale, Monditalia is one of the three core elements. It will mix architecture with Venice's dance, music, theatre and cinema biennales for the first time. Together these biennales will offer a series of temporary structures, activities and interventions, forming a comprehensive image of the host country.

Co-author: Ellie Stathaki

Photo copyright: OMA/AMO

[Wallpaper*] Letter from Portugal: we chart the country’s new wave of architecture projects

From a small temporary bar in Porto, to a Pedestrian Escalator in Montemor-o-Velho and a large Arts Centre near Chaves, the featured projects in our report of the most recent architectural undertakings in Portugal vary as much in scale as in agenda.

Photo: Hugo Santos Silva

[Wallpaper*] Casa Redux by Marcio Kogan: a minimalist Brazilian home that appears to float above the ground

Appearing to float above the slopes of Bragança Paulista, just one hour’s drive north of São Paulo, and designed by renowned Brazilian architect Marcio Kogan and his practice Studio MK27, Casa Redux surely encapsulates the idea of a dream retreat.

Photography: Fernando Guerra

[Wallpaper*] Casa Varatojo by Atelier Data, Portugal

From certain faraway angles it seems as though an alien has landed on Varatojo. Named after the hill it sits atop, on the eastern edge of the growing town of Torres Vedras, Casa Varatojo was designed by Lisbon-based architects Atelier Data. Carefully sculpted in line with its natural environment, the house’s position on the hill rewards its occupants - a family of four - with unobstructed views over the town and the landscape beyond.

Photography: Richard John Seymour