Rafael Calado

Rafael Calado is an architect since 1993. He coordinated FabLab Lisboa (2014-21), co-founded Repair Café Lisboa (2016), trained leader of the European Creative Hubs Network. He served as Ambassador for Maker Faire Rome and completed residencies with Rhode Island School of Design and Bartlett School of Architecture, Atolye Istambul, among others.

In 2022, he founded and coordinates BioLab Lisboa, Portugal’s first Citizen Lab (in partnership with Lisbon City Council, Lisbon Univ. Science Faculty of Lisbon and FCiências.ID Association), promoting international residencies, internships, and workshops.

He won two Participatory Budgets, supporting maker entrepreneurship training for people with disabilities and a Circular Economy hub in Lisbon. He was a Fellow of Urban Arenas for Just and Sustainable Cities and mentor at FabLab Porto de Mós.

He contributes to European projects such as Let’s Go Circular and Bauhaus of the Seas Sails, is a founding member of Vulca, ECHN and established BioLab Lisboa as a European node of Fabricademy and currently on the process of integrating the MIT Media Lab course “How to Grow Almost Anything” as a node too.