We’re a small studio. We’d rather do fewer projects, well.
Sienna was founded in 2012 by Sofia Marques and João Pires, after a decade between practices in Lisbon and Copenhagen. It has stayed deliberately small — a studio of four, plus the people we trust and bring in.
We work on houses, small workplaces, and the interiors that go inside them, mostly across Portugal. Architecture and interior design are handled by the same people, start to finish, so nothing gets lost in the handover.
Founded
2012 · Lisbon
Studio
Four, plus collaborators
Focus
Architecture & interiors, as one
How We Work
Restraint
We design to a short list of moves and materials. What’s left out matters as much as what stays.
Materials first
Stone, timber, lime, linen — chosen early, sampled at full size, and left to age rather than sealed.
Built to last
Detailing for decades, not for the opening photos. We stay involved through construction.
The Process
01
Brief
We spend real time on this — how you live, what the site gives you, what the budget can carry.
02
Concept
One clear direction, tested with drawings and physical models before anything is fixed.
03
Development
Every detail resolved and specified — materials, joinery, lighting, landscape — as one package.
04
Delivery
On site weekly, working with the builder through to the last coat and the furniture going in.
The Team
Sofia Marques
Founder, architect
João Pires
Founder, interiors
Tomás Rocha
Project architect
Recognition
2024
AD100 — Emerging practices
2023
Dezeen Awards — Interior of the year, shortlist
2023
Wallpaper* Architects Directory
2021
ArchDaily Building of the Year — nominee
Have a project in mind?
We take on a handful of new projects each year. Tell us about yours.
Start a project