Situated outside Casa do Design in Matosinhos, Arena Viva — a project by Paulo Moreira and ATA Atelier — reimagines the square’s concave, arena-like form as both a physical and social space: a meeting place, playground, and hub for collective activity.
Historically, arenas have served as sites of conflict, struggle, and the staging of colonial ideologies. Here, this cultural model is reinterpreted as a space for easing tensions through play, sport, and shared activity. Instead of separating spectators from participants, or winners from losers, stage and audience merge into a single performative ground — 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 of peace and exchange, showing how minimal spatial gestures can spark improvisation and encourage civic reappropriation of urban space, resisting the rigidity often imposed by public space design and cultural institutions.
As the welcoming threshold to Casa do Design, Arena Viva extends the museum beyond its walls, embodying the spirit of the fourth Porto Design Biennale.

Opening
23.10.2025 - 18h00
Casa do Design, Matosinhos