In 1889 he left for Paris in order to enter the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, and remained in the city until he received the French Government designation of Graduate Architect on 10 December 1896.

During his time in Paris, Marques da Silva did the majority of his academic work in a free atelier external to the School under the direction of Victor Laloux, resulting in some notable architectural drawings.

In addition, his activities extended to other areas in the north of the country, in particular Guimarães, a city for which he would design several important buildings such as the headquarters of the Martins Sarmento Society, the Market Hall, the Penha Sanctuary and his first project there, the Casa Correia de Matos.

This strategy earned him the respect of several generations of modern architects who, starting from the academic basis established by Marques da Silva, learned how to reinvent the architectural practice of Porto.

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