Bio

Portuguese-American architect with diversified international experience, specializing in the field of design, digital fabrication, architecture and urbanism applied to sustainable design and the circular economy. In 2012, he completes his Integrated Masters in Architecture at Universidade Lusíada de Lisboa with the presentation of the final project carried out in Rome and the thesis “Architecture and Identity - building places of Culture”.

During his professional internship he collaborated with Atelier M-Arquitectos in Ponta Delgada (S.Miguel , Azores) with whom he worked on several public and private projects between 2010 and 2012. 
In 2013, he returned to Lisbon where he completed specialized training in 3D modeling and architectural visualization Rhino Masterclass, with Rhino Portugal. In the same year, he received a work grant in Barcelona where he collaborated as a designer forAZPML, the Atelier of the Spanish architect Alejandro Zaera Polo. In 2014, he began to work as an individual and in 2015 received a diploma in Boston at MIT forFab Academyspecialized training in “Principles and applications of Digital Fabrication” spread internationally from the Center for Bits and Atoms, under the seal of the Fab Foundation and direction of prof. Neil Gershenfeld. 

Between 2016 and 2018 Maria Melo Bento worked in partnership with several private and public educational institutions in the United States and South America as a designer, instructor and specialist in Digital Fabrication applied to teaching and creative projects of social innovation, namely the development of the pilot project from a Fab Lab to theCommunity First Villagein Austin, Texas.Based in Montreal since 2019, Maria Melo Bento, together with the Corredor Associação Cultural collective, is preparing several new projects for the Azores in the fields of cinema, design, performing arts and socio-cultural innovation.