PAULO MERLINI Architects

What PAULO MERLINI Architects does

Paulo Merlini Architects is a privately held architecture and interior design firm founded in 2007 in Gondomar, within the Porto metropolitan area of Portugal. The firm operates with a team of more than 10 people across two Portuguese offices (Gondomar HQ and a Lisbon unit opened around 2022) and delivers architectural services across residential, commercial offices, retail, hospitality, healthcare, and urban planning typologies. Its body of work spans 40+ projects in Portugal and internationally, including commissions in Ivory Coast and England.

The firm's core methodology is the "US IS MORE" creative philosophy, which grounds architectural design in human biology and the brain's response to external stimuli, executed through a Cartesian method (analyzing problems, dividing them into parts, solving from simplest to complex, and reviewing generally). This approach is applied to project mandates ranging from 350 m2 private residences to 12,500 m2 corporate headquarters and 24,000 m2 urban parks, and is the basis for the firm's international press positioning in outlets such as Dezeen, Designboom, Archdaily, and Interior Design Magazine.

The business model is professional services: project-based fees for architectural design, planning, and project management, sold through enterprise field sales to real estate developers and corporate clients seeking differentiated investments and brand-identity-building spaces. Customer cohorts include enterprise clients such as E-GOI, Clavel's Kitchen, Castro Group, UNILABS, and Covet Group, alongside municipal and private residential clients. The firm is bootstrapped, founder-led, and has no external institutional investment or parent company.

Name

PAULO MERLINI Architects

Legal name

Paulo Merlini Architects

Website

https://paulomerlini.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Paulo Merlini Architects is a privately held Portuguese architecture firm founded in 2007, applying a biology- and neuroscience-based "US IS MORE" design philosophy to residential, commercial, healthcare, and urban projects for developers, corporate clients, and private clients across Portugal and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (541310), Interior Design Services (54141), Landscape Architectural Services (541320)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB), Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Residential architecture
• Commercial architecture
• Urban planning
• Interior design

Headquarters

HQ city

Gondomar

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Architecture Design Services: Professional architecture services for developers and companies including residential projects, commercial buildings, offices, hotels, clinics, and urban developments. Revenue generated through project-based fees for design, planning, and project management services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

PAULO MERLINI Architects is a Portugal-based architectural design firm that provides full-scope architecture and interior design services across residential, commercial (offices, retail, restaurants), hospitality (hotels), healthcare (clinics), and urban development (parks, urban renewal) typologies. The firm works through direct engagement with real estate developers and corporate clients, handling projects from concept and planning through execution, applying its proprietary 'US IS MORE' design philosophy that integrates human biology and neuroscience principles into spatial design.

Product overview

Paulo Merlini Architects is an architecture and interior design firm based in Porto, Portugal, operating since 2007. The firm provides architectural services across multiple typologies including residential (houses, apartments, housing complexes), commercial (offices, retail stores, restaurants), hospitality (hotels), healthcare (clinics), and urban planning (parks, urban development). Their portfolio includes completed projects in Portugal and international markets such as Ivory Coast and England. The firm operates from offices in Porto and Lisbon with a team of more than 10 professionals. Their design approach is guided by the 'US IS MORE' philosophy, which emphasizes creating spaces that positively influence human well-being through architectural design informed by biological and neuroscientific principles.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Residential Architecture Design Full-scope architectural design services for private residences, including single-family houses and apartment developments, with projects rooted in the firm's US IS MORE philosophy. Reference projects include Casa Rio (350m2 farmhouse renovation connecting three original structures) and Casa da Gandra (349m2 semi-buried house using thermal inertia of earth).
• Corporate Office Architecture Design Architectural design services for corporate offices and headquarters that respond to exponential company growth, express corporate identity, and humanize work environments using the US IS MORE philosophy. Reference project: E-GOI & Clavel's Kitchen Offices — 2800m2 flexible, egalitarian space with a concrete spiral staircase connecting three floors.
• Healthcare Architecture Design Architectural design services for clinics and healthcare facilities, including flagship 'diagnosis city' centers designed to be replicated across regions. Reference project: UNILABS nerve center in Portugal (12500m2) under the theme 'the diagnosis city'.
• Urban Development & Public Space Design Architecture and urban planning services for municipal and large-scale public works, including urban parks and city-level developments. Reference project: Parque Urbano Gondomar — 24000m2 urban park designed for Câmara Municipal de Gondomar, with more than 800 trees and shrubs and an artificial lake.
• Hospitality & Retail Architecture Design Architectural design services for hotels, retail flagships, restaurants, and luxury brand environments that express corporate identity and create emotionally engaging customer experiences. Reference projects include Covet Town (former seminary conversion for luxury furniture brand Covet Group, 500+ employees worldwide), Basho Sushi House, and MR&MRS WHITE STORE.

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Castro GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 January 2022Paulo Merlini Architects was chosen among many renowned firms to design a new Business Center in Matosinhos in partnership with Castro Group. The project involves rehabilitation of the iconic former Lactogal factory building, embodying offices of the future - a space responding to biological needs rooted in human genome and a building expressing fusion between home and office.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights10 records

Direct peers

• ARX Portugal Arquitectos: A Portuguese architecture practice of similar scale, operating from Portugal with a comparable multi-typology portfolio (residential, cultural, public). Directly comparable as a contemporary Iberian boutique studio competing for similar local developer and institutional clients.
• Ricardo Bak Gordon: Established Portuguese architect with a Lisbon-based practice producing residential, cultural, and commercial work with international recognition (including ArchDaily and Architizer features). Directly comparable as a Portuguese boutique studio of similar scale and typological range.
• CVDB Arquitectos: Award-winning Portuguese architecture practice with multi-typology work spanning residential, commercial, and public projects in Portugal. Comparable as a similarly-positioned boutique Portuguese firm competing for local enterprise and developer clients.
• Menos é Mais Arquitectos: Portuguese architecture studio founded around the same era (2007-era peer generation) producing award-winning cultural, public, and residential work. Comparable in team size and sector mix, competing for the same Iberian developer and cultural commissions.
• Pedra Líquida Arquitectos: Portuguese architecture firm with strong residential and commercial portfolio, frequently featured in ArchDaily and Architizer. Highly comparable as a boutique Iberian studio with international press recognition and similar design-led positioning.
• Harquitectes: Catalan architecture studio combining science-led investigation with material ecology, frequently recognized at A+ Awards and Pritzker shortlists. Directly comparable as a similarly-sized Iberian boutique practice emphasizing rigorous research methodology and material-driven design.

Broad incumbents

• Foster + Partners: Global architecture and integrated design practice with extensive developer and corporate client base across hospitality, commercial, and residential sectors. Comparable in serving premium developer clients and producing landmark projects, though at dramatically larger scale.
• Snøhetta: Internationally recognized architecture and design practice renowned for culture-driven, contextually rooted projects across architecture, landscape, and interiors. Comparable in methodology emphasis (deep research, biology-informed design) and typology breadth but operates at much larger scale with global offices.
• BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group: Global architecture firm known for science-and-research-led design with strong branding and high-profile mixed-use, cultural, and residential projects. Comparable in methodology storytelling and developer-customer orientation but at vastly larger scale and international footprint.
• Studio Gang: Internationally recognized architecture practice with research-driven approach and emphasis on ecology, community, and human-centered design. Comparable in thought-leadership positioning and biologized design philosophy, with global office network and broader typological reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/paulo-merlini-architects
• Instagraminstagram.com/paulomerlini_architects
• Facebookfacebook.com/paulomerliniarq

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PAULO MERLINI Architects