CALL FOR PROPOSALS FOR TWO CREATIVE GRANTS
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CENTRO DE ARQUITETURA MAC/CCB
Established by the Architecture Centre MAC/CCB in 2025 to honour the architect Diogo Seixas Lopes (1972–2016)—a pivotal figure in Portuguese architectural thought and the first Consultant of Garagem Sul—these creative grants aim to foster and consolidate the collective development of critical thinking and knowledge around the annual thematic lines of the Architecture Centre.
The competition is open to individuals or collectives whose research focuses on architecture and seeks to provide financial support for research, creation, and project execution. Two grants, each worth €10,000 per year, will be awarded, with guidance from Filipe Magalhães, Curator of the Architecture Centre at MAC/CCB.
Applications are open from March 23 to April 19, 2026, and must include the following: a Curriculum Vitae, motivation letter, portfolio, and a project proposal detailing its relevance to the thematic lines of the Architecture Centre.
The evaluation and selection process will take place between April and May 2026. The jury includes Anna Heringer (external), Filipe Magalhães (Curator, MAC/CCB), and Cristina Gameiro (Education and Mediation coordinator, MAC/CCB). Selected projects will be announced on 17 June 2026, the date of the opening of the exhibition Raw Earth.
For the inaugural edition of the Diogo Seixas Lopes Creative Grants, the thematic focus will be Raw Earth.
Photo © Tiago Casanova, 2026
Timeline
Application period: March 23 to April 19
Evaluation and selection period: April 20 to May 22
Interviews (if needed): May 11 to 15
Notification of selected projects: May 25
Contract formalisation: by June 16
Public announcement of selected projects: June 17
Project start date: June 18
Grant duration: June 18 to October 11
Documents
Call for Proposals for Two Creative Grants
Regulations [Download]Applications
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About the Diogo Seixas Lopes Creative Grants
Established in 2025 by the MAC/CCB Architecture Centre in honour of architect Diogo Seixas Lopes (1972–2016)—a pivotal figure in Portuguese architectural thought and the first Consultant of Garagem Sul—the creative grants are awarded annually to support emerging generations in architecture.
About the MAC/CCB Architecture Centre
The MAC/CCB Architecture Centre addresses contemporary questions within the discipline, positioning itself as a space for critical production and knowledge-making. Its programme brings together exhibitions, grants, publications, and public events as part of an ongoing system of research and dissemination. At the intersection of practice, research, and teaching, it engages with current issues by fostering an informed and critical reading of the built environment.
About the exhibition Raw Earth
At a time when planetary limits are under increasing pressure, we turn to raw earth not as a nostalgic return but as a natural, local, and readily available resource. Building with earth is a way of understanding territory and reactivating a body of knowledge that connects local resources with building cultures. The exhibition moves from material to action: from the physical and mineral complexity of soil, to accumulated knowledge, and on to practices that reclaim earth as a viable, ethical, and poetic building material. Starting from the ground beneath our feet, it invites us to rediscover raw earth as material, archive, and agent within contemporary architecture in Portugal. It brings together scientific and historical content, prototypes and case studies, as well as collaborative experiments that analyse and reuse excavated soils from construction sites in Lisbon, revealing their performance and potential as a circular resource, and opening up new possibilities for their role in shaping the city.
For further information or clarification: ccb@ccb.pt