Alexandre Vieira Pinto Alves Costa was born in Porto in 1939. He attended the Architecture course at the School of Fine Arts in Porto, after which he did an internship at the National Civil Engineering Laboratory with Nuno Portas, and obtained his architectural diploma in 1966.

Alexandre Alves Costa has practised as an independent architect since 1970. In 1972 he began his career at university teaching, in the areas of Project and History of Portuguese Architecture.

Amongst others he has collaborated with architects Álvaro Siza Vieira, Camilo Cortesão, José Luís Gomes, J. M. Soares, A. Corte Real and Sérgio Fernandez and with Porto City Council, carrying out projects for various municipalities, namely Porto, Matosinhos, Coimbra, Viseu and Lisbon.

In 1979, at the University of Porto, he joined the FAUP's Installing Committee for the Architecture Course, held the posts of Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Scientific Board and coordinated the 1st Doctoral Programme in Architecture.

At the University of Coimbra and the University of Minho, in 1988 and 1997 respectively, he was a member of the installation committees for Architecture courses. He is currently a retired Full Professor at the University of Porto.

Alexandre Alves Costa is also the author of some articles published in architectural magazines such as Lótus International, 9H, Domus, Wonen Tabk, Casabella, Architecti, Jornal dos Arquitectos, Monumentos and Estudos/Património.

He has been invited to sit on the editorial boards of the University of Porto Bulletin, Monumentos Magazine, the Directorate-General of National Buildings and Monuments and is a member of the Editorial Board of JA- the Architects' Newspaper of the Order of Architects.

Throughout his career he has received several awards, the most relevant being the 2008 International Association of Art Critics/Ministry of Culture Grand Prize, also awarded to Sérgio Fernandez, for the modern and quality work developed by both and for the historical accuracy of their heritage interventions.

In 2010, he gave his last formal lecture at the FAUP, in the Fernando Távora Auditorium, although he continues to direct the Thesis Project Seminar of the PhD course, to coordinate the editions of this Faculty, and to teach at the University of Coimbra.