The Faculty of Architecture (FA), part of UL, was established in 1979, when it provided the first higher education courses in Portugal leading to a bachelor's degree in Architecture as well as docturates in the same area. However, its origins go back to Paços da Ribeira Civil Architecture Course, established in 1954. The FA is one of the oldest public institutions providing architectural education in Portugal and is proud of being at the forefront in the field of research, supported by a deep regard for the humanist and artistic values that lie at the core of the Faculty. Irreverent, an agent of change with a critical approach, the FA remains a pionier and a guardian of the arts of draughsmanship and design, of space and the living environmements of people and activities, that is not in thrall to fashions or passing trends.