SAMI-arquitectos was founded in 2005 by Inês Vieira da Silva and Miguel Vieira. The practice has received several awards and honours, including three nominations for the European Architecture Award Mies van der Rohe (2007, 2011, 2015). SAMI-arquitectos has been referred to, nationally and internationally, for work developed by teams of young architects; in this context it was included in the short list of 100 young architects from around the world recommended by Herzog & de Meuron in 2007 for a project in Inner-Mongolia, P.R. China. Additionally, the practice has participated in many exhibitions and conferences, both in their home country and abroad.