Inês Vieira da Silva and Miguel Vieira established their practice, SAMI-arquitectos, in 2005 and gained an international reputation for their first work, the Gruta das Torres Visitor Centre on the island of Pico in the Azores.

The firm’s experience in designing and building its first building in natural surroundings went on to influence its approach to architectural practice, which seeks to intervene in a sensitive and conscientious way in the building’s setting, in the belief that each building is specific to each place.

In each design project there is a set of premises the firm seeks to address, and only when it has found the answer to all concerns is the coherence of the whole creative process ensured. SAMI-arquitectos sets out to design formally clarified spaces and environments, allying the conceptual aspect with a component that is of equal importance to their work: that of technical sophistication and meticulousness in construction. The firm’s input is reflected in all phases of the project, from the concept to the realization, i.e. the construction work.

To this end, involvement with the client, the special engineering teams and the end users is essential for informing the design and giving it the desired quality and coherence. The firm has designed and built public buildings, single-family homes and small-scale tourist projects for public and private clients.

SAMI-arquitectos strive for a sense of integration, permanence and beauty in their work, which they carry out with coherence and continuity, seeking an understanding of the world through architecture.