Professor Fernando Varanda is a Portuguese architect and urban planner. He graduated in architecture from the Lisbon School of Fine Arts, received his master's degree in urban and regional planning from New York University and was awarded a PhD. in human geography from Durham University. He is currently a professor in the department of urbanism at the Universidade Lusófona in Lisbon. Since 1973, he has undertaken extensive research on built spaces in Yemen, published in both monographs and specialised publications, notably The Art of Building in Yemen (1982); he has also undertaken research into the built environments of Portugal, and published Mértola no Alengarve in 2002. Dr. Varanda is also in private practice in Lisbon with a variety of projects for the public and private sectors, especially those involving the rehabilitation of buildings and building technologies, as well as the integration of new structures in historic centres.