ADA PENNA

Architecture & Urbanism
Architect and urbanist. Ada is a founding partner of plano livre and currently is a PhD candidate at the Edinburgh College of Art.

About
Education
Experience
Awards

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Research

Brutalist Connections
Invisible Voids
BH On Rails

Design

MS Justice Court
Vale do Sereno
Xisto Guerra Bus Station
Vintém Park
Saudade Square
Lapinha Studio
Laender House
National Museum
Tiradentes House
Carmo Coffes
Ateliê Wäls






adapenna@gmail.com
About




Ada A. Penna Souza-Mcmurtrie
+44 0 7448 022935
adapenna@gmail.com

I am an architect and urban planner from Brazil, currently based in Edinburgh, where I am pursuing my PhD. My research focuses on Brazil’s mid-20th century architectural production, a chapter of history I am passionate about. During this period, design and ethics walked hand in hand. Architecture became a tool for resistance and a way to rethink society. Architects approached design as the poetics of constructive reasoning, combining technical expertise with a strong sense of place. My research looks beyond the common association of this Brazilian movement with Anglo-European Brutalism, which often erases its unique historical context.

In my practice, I bring together design, research and teaching, each part informing the other. The design studio, where you will often find me, is where the best solutions emerge through collaboration. This also shapes my approach at plano livre, where we work to improve the built environment, project by project.