Recently concluded, Thalia Theatre in Lisbon is a culmination of this process. It asserts the presence of the past, salvaging the remains of a playhouse from the nineteenth century. These ruins, encased in a concrete shell, became a new multifunctional space that hosts and celebrates civic life. Designed with Gonçalo Byrne, the project also underlines our conviction to share professional experience with other people. We frequently engage in collaborations with colleagues, from different generations and countries. As local architects for Peter Märkli, planning a series of villas in the south of Portugal, the mutual belief in the lingua franca of the profession persisted despite cultural differences. Drawing from multiple sources, architecture must seek this universal. This is our main task.