Jose Manuel de Bivar Cornelio da Silva was born in 1958 and graduated in Architecture in 1983 from the Escola Superior de Belas Artes in Lisbon. In 1982, he studied at the Centro
Internazionale di Studi di Architettura Andrea Palladio, under Renato Cevese and André Chastel, and at the ICCROM-ARC in Rome under Sir Bernard Fielden, Derek Linstrum, Giorgio
Torraca, Paul Philippot and others in 1986. He has developed a career as an architect in professional practice as well as academics, and received prizes in the USA (IFRAA, Chicago 1st Prize 1992) and the EU (Fondation Philippe Rothier, Belgium, 1995).Jose’s academic life includes time as a professor at the FRESS (Ricardo do Espirito Santo Silva
Foundation) in Lisbon, Instituto Superior Tecnico at the University of Evora, and as the founding dean of the School of Architecture at Viseu as part of the Portuguese Catholic
University. He was a professor and Academic Director of the University of Notre Dame – Rome Program, and an Associate Professor at the South Bend campus. He has been a guest
lecturer at various universities, including the Universities of Bologna, Florence, Reggio Calabria, Polytechnic University of Madrid, The Prince’s Foundation, Oxford, Evora, IST
Lisbon, and Notre Dame. He has published numerous articles and books on art and architecture, conservation, gardens, etc.
His career as a professional practitioner began in 1982 in Lisbon. He has worked on a variety of projects in Europe, Asia, The Middle East, and North America for both public and private clientele. Jose’s public works include embassies, work for the Portuguese Military, museums, libraries, churches, and restorations, while private works include residences, wineries and vineyards, museums, resorts, offices, restaurants, and more.
Jose is fluent in five languages (Portuguese, English, Spanish, French, and Italian), has interests and currently works in the fields of architecture and architectural history, painting,
preservation and restoration of historic buildings, garden design, interior and furniture design, and study of the classics, and is an avid collector of books and antiques on these subjects.