This proposal is the result of a process developed in several phases and in different locations throughout the city. Located outside Casa do Design in Matosinhos, Arena Viva — a project by Paulo Moreira and ATA Atelier — reimagines the concave shape of the square leading to the museum, similar to an arena, as a physical and social space: a meeting place, a playground, and a centre for collective activities.

Historically, arenas have served as places of conflict, struggle and the staging of colonial ideologies. Here, this cultural model is reinterpreted as a space for relieving tensions through play, sport and shared activities. Instead of separating spectators from participants, or winners from losers, the stage and the audience merge into a single performative terrain — activated by encounter rather than confrontation.

Arena Viva affirms the collective desire to transform our prevailing notions of conflict through joyful and inclusive coexistence. It becomes an infrastructure for peace and exchange, showing how minimal spatial gestures can trigger improvisation and encourage civic reappropriation of urban space, resisting the rigidity often imposed by the design of public space and cultural institutions.

As the threshold to Casa do Design, Arena Viva extends the museum beyond its walls, embodying the spirit of the 4th edition of the Porto Design Biennale.