Arquipélago - Contemporary Arts Centre, located in Ribeira Grande, was one of the four Portuguese projects awarded at the 10th Ibero-American Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism (BIAU), along with Casa do Tempo in Montemor-o-Novo, the corporate headquarters of EDP in Lisbon and Casa E/C on Pico Island.
 
Arquipélago was selected by the jury among 26 projects of the 194 proposed by the National Committees from 21 countries, who analysed a total of 1,111 works as well as six books, two newspapers and a collection of videos.
 
Arquipélago - Contemporary Arts Centre maintains the industrial character of the building and provides a theme to the dialogue between the existing building (former alcohol and tobacco factory) and the new construction (culture factory, art production, multipurpose/performing arts rooms, workshops, laboratories, artists' studios).
 
The project designed by Francisco Vieira de Campos, Cristina Guedes and João Mendes Ribeiro is committed to the quality of the existing building and highlights typological variations. The new buildings are placed alongside the existing ones in a "serene" manner, clarifying what existed in a given period of time and what was added to it without hurting or misrepresenting the spatial and constructive structures of the buildings, whose context and contiguity contribute to the autonomy of the object.
 
The jury of the 10th BIAU also distinguished architect Eduardo Souto Moura, among 21 applications submitted, recognising a work "full of emotion" and the important contribution provided to the teaching at universities in several countries.
 
The jury assessed 194 pre-selected proposals by the National Committees from 21 countries, distinguishing a total of 26 winning works located in Argentina, Mexico, Portugal, Ecuador, Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Chile and Spain.
 
The winning works mainly consist of architectural works, including public buildings such as cultural centres, theatres, museums, different types of houses and even a stable.
 
The Ibero-American Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism is an initiative of the Spanish Government, developed in collaboration with several Latin American institutions. It is one of the fundamental references of current architecture and urban planning in the Latin American community.
 
This event promotes the recognition and dissemination of the most significant architectural and urban planning works, the best publications, the outstanding research work and the best ideas from architects and architecture students.