Occasionally known as Jorge Chaves or Chaves. One of the architects who brought the Modern Movement to Portugal in the latter part of the 1940s. Frequently collaborated with other notable Portuguese architects, including Joaquim Ferreira, Miguel Jacobetty Rosa, and Porfírio Pardal Monteiro.
He left his education at the Lisbon School of Fine Arts to serve in the Portuguese expeditionary forces during World War II. He returned to the school in 1944 and received the José Luis Monteiro Prize in 1946.
He insisted on designing his own furniture for his buildings or at the very least using Portuguese-manufactured furniture.
His father, Raul Pires Ferreira Chaves, was a Portuguese civil engineer and inventor.
He aspired to carry on the legacies of such innovative architects as Frank Lloyd Wright.