Sofia
Sofia Nobre Costa is 47 years old and from Portimão. She completed her degree in Architecture at the Universidade Lusíada de Lisboa and later pursued a postgraduate course in City, Landscape, and Territory at the University of Seville. Sofia began her career working as an architect at PM-Arq Palma de Melo in Lisbon between 1997 and 1998 and then at António Marques – Architecture and Planning, Lda in Lagos from 1998 to 1999. She also has training and experience as an expert evaluator for the Portuguese Tax and Customs Authority. Since 2000, she has been responsible for signing projects as a senior architect, specializing in housing, commerce, services, and urban planning. She operates from Portimão, Algarve, a region she highlights for its beautiful beaches, excellent gastronomy, culture, history, and nature.
She chose Architecture because of the joy of seeing ideas come to life and to create solutions for the spaces where people live, work, and move through. Sofia is always motivated to continue contributing to the creation of projects, modifying spaces, and especially working closely with people—a personal connection that adds depth to her work. Her fieldwork involves regular site visits, reinforcing this connection and the content of her work.
The Housing sector remains the most recurrent and significant area of her professional journey as an architect, although she also has a strong interest in Urban Planning. It is at the intersection of these two fields where she sees Architecture’s greatest contribution to society, particularly through the involvement of architects in rehabilitation processes, urban regeneration, and the construction of cities. In addition to her notable achievements in the housing market, Sofia also has experience in other areas such as commerce and services, hospitality, tourism development, and land use planning.
From her travels, Sofia fondly remembers cities like Paris, Barcelona, and Buenos Aires. She also recalls the unexpected fascination she had for the Patagonian Natural Parks in Argentina, where she admired the stunning landscapes of the Glacier National Park and the Tierra del Fuego National Park. She loves traveling, enjoying good food, and spending time with her family. For her, the Algarve, where she lives, offers the perfect balance, with moments spent hiking along the magnificent trails and beaches of Costa Vicentina. Watching her daughter grow and sharing the joy of discovery through their travels together is one of the most precious things in her life. And as Nelson Mandela once said, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” Many things have already become possible in Sofia’s world and life.