MATTERIA is an award winning architecture and urban design practice based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Founded by Lucas Coelho Netto, MATTERIA work ranges in scale, use, and areas. It is the intersection of research, the built environment, and academia. Believes in practice and research as parallel and complementary activities that allow exploring the potential of each project.

Our logo comes from the most simple of structures, the portico, composed of two columns and a beam. Devoided of any enclosure, it blurs the thresholds between interior and exterior. Graphically, the two Ts also represent part of the word MATTERIA and the merging of the words matéria, in Portuguese, and matter, in English.

LUCAS COELHO NETTO - FOUNDING PARTNER

Lucas is an architect and urban designer. After earning his bachelor’s degree in architecture from PUC-Rio, Lucas obtained his M.S. in Architecture and Urban Design at Columbia GSAPP, where he won the Lucille Smyser Lowenfish Memorial Prize and Avery Scholarship for incoming students.

Before founding MATTERIA in 2021, Lucas collaborated with Gávea Architects and Agencia TPBA in Rio, MASSLab in Porto, and Bjarke Ingels Group in Copenhagen. His professional and academic work ranges from residential projects to public spaces, including studies in renewable energy and climate change, to cultural and educational architecture.

Current and previous collaborators:

Yasmine Katkhuda (Urban Designer), Federica Linares (Architect), Petros Terra (Architect), Chico Escobar (Engineer), Julia Pithan (Engineer), Eduarda Abud (Landscape Architect), Carolina Quintella (Architect, Interior Designer), Rodrigo Agueda (Sociologist), Sistemas Urbanos (Paving and Drainage), Ecomimesis (Landscape), Luz Urbana (Lighting), Joyce Lopes (Road Signage), Nova Engenharia (Cost Estimates), FQEP (Road Geometry), Anexo 50 (Interior Design), Alessandro Zanini (Architect)

Contact

info@matteria.studio
lucas@matteria.studio
+55 21 98444 0033

Awards:

C40 Reinventing Cities São Paulo - 1st Place (2022)
Weefor Arq 2 - Shortlisted Proposal (2022)
Charitas Waterfront - 2nd Place (2021)

Talks:

UIA2023 - Regenerative, Resilient and Equitable Built Environment (2023)
UIA2023 Science Track - “Em(POWER)ing Belize” (2023)
AIA NY Talk - “LATITUDES: Latin American Architecture NOW” (2023)
C40 Webinar - “Transforming Public Spaces Through Design Competitions” (2023)
CBN Radio - Live Interview (2022)
TV Bandeirantes - Live Interview (2022)
Live SP Urbanismo - C40 Reinventing Cities SP (2022)
Ser Urbano 2020 - "Meeting with Alumni” (2020)