People


Carlo Ratti
Founding Partner / Chairman
An architect and engineer by training, Carlo teaches at MIT, where he directs the Senseable City Lab, and is a founding partner of the international design and innovation office Carlo Ratti Associati.
He graduated from the Politecnico di Torino and the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in Paris, later earning his MPhil and PhD at the University of Cambridge, UK. In the last decade, Carlo has given talks around the world on the theme of Smart Cities, while his work has been exhibited in international venues including the Venice Biennale, New York’s MoMA, London’s Science Museum and Barcelona’s Design Museum. Two of his projects – the Digital Water Pavilion and the Copenhagen Wheel – were hailed by Time Magazine as “Best Inventions of the Year.” He has been included in Blueprint Magazine’s “25 People who will Change the World of Design” and in Wired Magazine’s “Smart List: 50 people who will change the world.” He was curator for the Future Food District at Expo Milano 2015, and is currently serving as co-chair of the World Economic Forum Global Council on the Future of Cities and Urbanization.


ANTONIO ATRIPALDI
Partner in Charge
Graduated in Architecture from the Università degli Studi Roma Tre in 2009, Antonio has a Post-Graduate “Master in Advanced Architecture” from the Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona.
Between 2006 and 2010 he worked as a trainee in the cabinet of Prof. Maurizion Marcelloni in Rome, mainly in the field of architectural and urban planning. In 2011 he was awarded a scholarship to work with the FabLab of Barcelona and was responsible for organizing and running the digital fabrication facilities. He joined CRA in October 2006.


DANIELE BELLERI
Partner in Charge / Head of Communications
Daniele is a design editor with international experience as a communication manager, curator, journalist, and researcher. With a background in contemporary history, urban studies, and political science, he joined CRA in February 2016.
In his career, Daniele has been exploring how architecture communication can play a crucial role in advancing the design profession and its ability to influence public debate and the policy agenda. He investigated this topic both as a professional and as a researcher and advisor to educational institutions – most notably, the Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture, and Design in Moscow, where he also graduated. As a Partner at CRA, Daniele co-leads the CRA Think unit, from where he is in charge of all editorial, curatorial, and communication projects of the office. In 2019, managing a wide team of writers, press officers, designers, and editors, he was Executive Curator of the 8th Urbanism and Architecture Bi-City Biennale (UABB Shenzhen – “Eyes of the City” exhibition). Before joining CRA, Daniele co-founded a London-based Strategic Design agency advising cultural organizations in Europe and Asia and worked for ten years as a design reporter for some of the leading media outlets in Europe, including Wired Italia, Domus, Volume, IL Magazine (Il Sole 24 Ore). A passionate urbanite, he has lived and worked in Milan, Rome, Turin, Helsinki, London, Moscow, and Beijing.


ALBERTO BENETTI
Senior Architect
Alberto graduated in Architecture and Building Engineering from the University of Trento in 2017 with a focus on the potential of new technologies and open-source strategies in the urban context.
His master thesis “HE.RE. – a kit for temporary reactivation of urban vacancies,” developed a prototype of a software to map underused buildings by using heterogeneous sets of data to direct the installation of a network of sensing urban devices able to temporarily reactivate these buildings by creating new active public spaces for open-source strategies. Since 2016, his research has been awarded by the IEEE Smart Cities Initiative and has been presented most recently – among other occasions – at the IAAC Responsive Cities Symposium in Barcelona. After having attended the first semester of the Mario Cucinella’s School of Sustainability, he joined CRA in January 2018.


Irina Bogdan
Senior Architect
Irina is an architect with a background in research and computational design with a focus on developing speculative discourses on topics of human-robot interaction and machine vision.
Her multidisciplinary practice traverses and links the fields of art, new media, architecture and design. As a spatial designer and an art project coordinator, she collaborated between 2018 and 2021 with Studio Tomás Saraceno, after working as an architectural designer and associate with UNStudio between 2013 and 2017. She joined CRA in October 2021.


MARIKA BONOMO
Finance Assistant
Marika was born in Turin in 1996, and obtained a diploma in Administration, Finance and Marketing at the Quintino Sella AAlto. She comes from an experience of two years on her background as an accountant in an accountancy office.
Afterward she has spent six months in Africa for a working experience with local cooperatives getting to know the people and the culture. Before starting her working career at CRA she has spent two months in the United States and then she joined CRA’s administration team in December 2018.


CHIARA BORGHI
Senior Architect
Chiara graduated with honors in Architecture for Sustainability at the Politecnico di Torino, with the thesis “Save/safe Murazzi.
A project for urban security: social sustainability and light.” She has also graduated from programs in Trieste and Madrid, and she studied CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) in Copenhagen. She is interested in the social environment and the dynamics of social participation; she works at Ecoborgo Campidoglio in Turin organizing occasions of interaction. She’s co-founder of the collective de:forma which actively trains architectural students in creating DIY experimental projects. She joined CRA in November 2015.


MARTINA BUONO
Front Office
Martina was born in Turin in 1995. She studied English and Spanish (with a hint of economics) at the University of Turin where she obtained a three-years degree in Languages and Culture for Tourism. In July 2020 she received a Master's Degree in International Communication for Tourism.
With a strong passion for art, languages and travels, she joined the CRA team as Office Manager in March 2021, where she uses her knowledge in different cultures and languages to manage the CRA office with an international team of designers.


LUCA BUSSOLINO
Strategy and Innovation
Luca is a trained architect and licensed engineer. He completed his Master in Architecture in September 2018, obtaining a double degree with honors at Politecnico di Torino and Politecnico di Milano.
During his studies, he spent one year in Paris, at ENSA La Villette, and a semester at TU Delft, in The Netherlands. He holds a post-degree Diploma in Innovation Management from the highly selective Alta Scuola Politecnica which led him to deal with themes ranging from design thinking to industry 4.0. In June 2019, he completed his second humanitarian project in Cambodia, managing the process from needs evaluation to fundraising and building construction of a multi-family house in Sihanoukville. Luca joined CRA in December 2018.


ANDREA CASSI
Partner in Charge
Andrea graduated in Architecture from the Politecnico di Torino with a thesis on the role of digital technologies in the contemporary city, developed at the Senseable City Lab at MIT.
In 2008, his work with Weekend In A Morning, “The tree sap, the divers and the silence,” was exhibited at the Venice Architecture Biennale. In 2010, with Weekend In a Morning, he won the international competition “Rome City Vision.” He writes periodically for the architecture magazine “City Vision Mag” and is a teaching assistant for the Architecture Design workshop at the Politecnico di Torino and Politecnico di Milano. He has been collaborating with CRA since 2009.


Sara Chillè
Finance Assistant
Sara is currently studying at the University of Turin, majoring in Economics and Statistics. She joined the CRA Turin office as Finance Assistant in May 2021.
Sara was born in Venaria Reale in 1998. She obtained a diploma in Accounting with a specialization in International Relations for Marketing. Furthermore, she also received an EsaBac, a double Italian-French diploma.


MARIO DAUDO
Architect
Mario graduated cum laude in Architecture Building Cities at the Politecnico di Torino in 2017 with a thesis called “Space: Future is all about Communication”. His work explored new frontiers about the relationship between Virtual Reality and architecture, considering it as the new tool architect will have to master to design tomorrow’s spaces.
After a short period at Fabio Novembre Studio in Milano, he joined Archisbang Associati in Torino where he has had the opportunity to experience architectural practice from the concept design to the building site management. He joined CRA in April 2019.


Iratxe de Dios
Junior Architect
Iratxe finished her master at Architecture at Polythenic University of Madrid in July 2020. Short after, she worked as an intern at 7478 in Rotterdam where was involved in projects of different scales and field of architecture, from designing furniture to interior design to masterplan.
She worked as a scientific illustrator involving in the image for the Poster Presentation “Biosignatures of cold seep carbonates to help understand the carbon cycle within the ocean worlds” for the 52nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 2021, the most important planetary science congress, sponsored by NASA.


GARY DI SILVIO
Head of 3D Visualization Team
Gary graduated in Architecture at the University of Venice IUAV in 2012, focusing on environmental sustainability.
He is currently studying for a Master in Digital Architecture at the same university, where he has been able to deepen his understanding and knowledge with regards to new digital tools for architectural visualization, parametric modeling and rapid prototyping. He joined CRA in May 2013 as a CG Artist.


ERZË DINARAMA
Architect
Erzë is an interdisciplinary designer and researcher working at the intersection of architecture, landscape urbanism, and computational design. She has practiced in Italy, Kosovo, Germany, and Austria, and has also been involved in teaching activities at the Polytechnic University of Milan, Turin, Piacenza, and at the School of Design in Milan. She has exhibited at Pecci Museum in Prato and at the Landscape Festival Prague, and has been published at the ACADIA conference.
Erzë holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture at The University of Prishtina, and Masters Degree in Architecture with Distinction at The Polytechnic University of Milan. Additionally, she holds a Professional Certificate Degree in Advanced Architecture at The University of Berkeley, California, with a Distinction in Design, and has done exchange programs at the University of Bologna and Czech Technical University. Among studios she has been involved in are Studio Olafur Eliasson, and Elisa Cattaneo landscape architecture. During her collaboration with Elisa Cattaneo, among other projects, she was also landscape architecture Project Leader for the Budapest Southgate competition in collaboration with Studio Eisenman Architects. Additionally, she has been an invited critic at Rice University, Pratt Institute, and IAAC – Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia.


NIKA DZHIOEVA
Public Affairs Manager
Nika holds Master’s degrees in International Affairs and Cultural Management & Economics from the Russian State University for the Humanities and the University of Bologna respectively.
After graduation, she worked in Communications and Public affairs in cultural institutions and the media both in Russia and in Italy, contributed to the launch of Uber Eats in Italy, and, more recently, moved to Turin to work with the European Training Foundation’s Policy Team to reform education & training systems. Nika joined CRA in April 2019 to oversee public affairs with our speaking engagement clients as part of CRA Think.


SERENA GIARDINA
Architect
Serena completed her Master in Architecture Construction City at the Politecnico di Torino in February 2018.
Recently she spent three months in Tokyo as a Visiting Research Student at Keio University to develop a thesis project about the role of contemporary art in Japan and how it can be linked with architecture to renew the cultural context of cities in the post-industrial period. While studying, she participated in several design competitions and workshops. Her team won the last edition of TTT International Workshop by designing a modular kitchen, whose prototype was realized in scale 1:1 at FABLAB Torino. Serena joined CRA in October 2017.


MARTA GOBBO
Junior Communications Specialist
Marta majored in Communication Theory and Technology, a multidisciplinary course that draws on the teaching and scientific resources of the departments of Psychology and of Computer Science at the University of Milano-Bicocca.
Her thesis is about the use of digital communication as a marketing tool for luxury brands. Having worked and studied in Padua, Milan and Portsmouth, she moved to Turin and joined CRA at the end of 2021.


VALENTINA GRASSO
Project Manager / Senior Architect
Valentina graduated with honors from the Faculty of Architecture of Reggio Calabria, with a thesis on the regeneration of the harbor basin of Ischia, which was awarded first prize for “Provocation” at IsAM, 2012 (Ischia).
For several years she has been a teaching assistant for various studios on architecture and urban design, and has participated in numerous workshops as well as national and international competitions. In 2012, she worked as a researcher at I2a, the International Institute of Architecture (Vico Morcote, Switzerland), where she co-authored “Beyond Urbanization,” a publication on contemporary urban conditions and inter-modal nodes in the Lugano area. In 2018 she gained an Executive Master in Project Management Advances Program at Il Sole 24Ore Business School in Milan. She joined CRA in April 2013.


Mohamed Yasser Hariss
Architectural Intern
Mohamed Yasser graduated from Politecnico di Torino in 2021. During his studies, he developed an interest in innovative tools and methodologies for architectural design that led him to focus his Master thesis on Computational and Generative Design.


STELA KARABINA
Communications Associate
An Architect with a hint of communication, Stela has been writing for a renowned magazine about sustainable architecture. She has been working as a Communication Assistant for several designers and companies during Milan Design Week both at Salone del Mobile and Fuorisalone.
She has been working as a designer and consultant for urban planning and development strategies. A multidisciplinary perspective led her to start a textile laboratory to reinvent her familiar background with textile engineering through a new language in design. She joined CRA in July 2019 as a Communication Associate, working on the Press Office and Social Media.


SANGEUN LEE
Senior Interior-Architect
After collaborating with CRA in 2014, Sang Eun worked as an architect at the lamatilde studio between 2015 and 2020, where she followed several interior projects in the residential, restaurant and commercial areas.


STEPHANIE KYUYOUNG LEE
Designer
Stephanie holds a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology and Studio Art with distinction from Wesleyan University. She completed her M.Arch from Rice University where she was awarded the Morris R. Pitman Fellowship, Margaret Everson-Fossi Award, Mary Ellen Hale Lovett Fellowship and Brett Michael Detamore Research Grant for Intellectual Studies.
She gained professional experience from Shigeru Ban Architects in Japan; OPEN Architecture in China; and managed exhibitions, and fabrication for the artist Lee Bul, among others. Her research centers in exploring the intersection of post-colonial anxiety, and utopian labor systems in the built/ non-built environment. This led to her graduate thesis “R-R’R” (2017), where she proposed a technoscientific prototype for cooperatives in factory farming. She has worked and lived throughout the United States as well as Copenhagen, Tokyo, Beijing, Seoul and Paris before joining CRA in 2018.


Alba Leon Alvarez
Architectural Intern
Alba completed her M.Sc. in Architecture with a focus in sustainability halfway between Granada and Turin on January 22.
While having studied in Spain, she carried out workshops in Armenia and Mozambique, heritage research in Morocco and several internships in Italy, having spent 6 months at Warehouse of Architecture and Research in Rome. She is currently focusing on innovative construction techniques, as well as in BIM and parametric modelling. She joined CRA in April 2022.


VINCENT LEUNG
Press Officer and Editor
Vincent was born and raised in Hong Kong, before spending the subsequent years in United Kingdom, Portugal and Italy for his academic and professional pursuits.
He obtained an MA degree with distinction in history of art at University College London, in which he wrote his thesis on the artistic presentation of nightlife in Paris at the turn of 19th century. Before joining CRA, Vincent was a freelance food and culture writer. He contributed articles to media outlets across the globe such as The Michelin Guide (digital edition), Eater and food history journal Eaten, as well as produced English content for an exhibition at Tai Kwun, a major cultural institution in Hong Kong. He became a part of CRA Think in July 2020.


MONIKA LÖVE
COO / Project Manager
Trained initially as an interior architect in Estonia and working on various projects through all stages of design and construction, Monika completed a Design Master in the Netherlands in 2008 before moving to the UK to work for the architectural company Slider Studio.
In 2011, she graduated with distinction from the Centre for Research Architecture at Goldsmiths College, University of London, and continued her research at the Jan van Eyck Academie, a post-graduate research and production center, in 2012. Monika is interested in readings of contemporary political issues within a constructed, real or imaginary architecture.


Eugenia Macchia
Architect
Eugenia Macchia holds a Master of Architecture from the Politecnico di Milano (2012) where she graduated with Honours with a thesis based on the research of informal sacred spaces in the province of Reggio Emilia (Italy). Later, she moved to Chicago where she studied Interior Architecture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (Class 2016).


AURORA MAGGIO
Architect
Graduated with Merit in Architecture with a double degree between Politecnico di Milano and Torino, Aurora studied in France, Spain, and Peru.
Besides her experience in designing, working with SuperSpatial, Artemide, and Deloitte, she was an Academic Tutor and published in Corriere della Sera and Abitare architectural pieces. She joined CRA in February 2020.


Nicolette Marzovilla
Architect
Nicolette graduated full marks in Architecture and Engineering at University Mediterranea of Reggio Calabria, with a thesis “Urban regeneration for Queens (NY-USA)” in collaboration with Parsons School of Design.
Since 2017 she has been working for several architecture offices in The Netherlands. There she specializes in architectural transformation projects, urban analysis and strategy. She believes architecture means exploration and innovative attitude so in order to achieve this result is necessary passion, dedication and curiosity about research and new technologies


PASQUALE MILIERI
Architect / 3D Artist
Pasquale graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Architecture and Construction Techniques from “La Sapienza” University of Rome.
In 2016, he obtained a master’s degree cum laude in “Architecture construction and city” from the Politecnico di Torino, with a master’s thesis about the reconversion of an industrial building into residential care home for people who are not self-sufficient. His thesis was nominated among the best theses in Architecture for the year 2016 by the Young Talent Architecture Award (YTAA). In 2017, he was awarded the third prize for the international ideas competition: “L’Unione industriale si veste di nuovo, Torino.” Since 2011, Pasquale has been developing a deep interest in architectural visualization, experimenting with new approaches and different techniques with various 3D software and a variety of rendering engines. He joined CRA as 3D Artist in 2018.


CHIARA MORANDINI
Project Manager / Senior Architect
Chiara graduated in Construction Engineering from the Politecnico di Torino. She won a MURST 2-year professional training scholarship on restoration, acoustics, lighting, architecture and design and construction management, mainly held at Borini Costruzioni spa, Politecnico di Torino and CNR ICITE.
Chiara worked as Plans Coordinator for many building sites of Borini Costruzioni spa until 2003. She was Project Manager at Mediapolis Engineering srl, where she followed major projects such as shopping malls, residential buildings, schools and nursing homes. Chiara has coordinated several tenders and competitions. After being partner of CRA between 2003 and 2006, Chiara is now back at the studio to assist the design team.


Mykola Murashko
CTO of CRA MAKE
Mykola studied Architecture at Selwyn College, University of Cambridge. His interest lies at the intersection of science, technology and design.
Mykola’s academic work culminated with a thesis which used data science to better explain the growth of London. He graduated with a First-Class degree and holds the E.S. Prior Prize for his understanding of materials and construction. He joined CRA in October 2021.


SINÉAD NICHOLSON
Designer / Early Stage Researcher
Sinéad is an environmental designer with an interest in climate change adaptation in the built environment. In 2019, she graduated from a Master in Advanced Ecological Building at the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, which built on her previous studies in design and environmental science at the University of Melbourne.
Born in Tasmania, Australia she has enjoyed living and studyin


Camilla Nicolini
Strategy and Innovation
After graduating in Architecture from the University of Roma Tre in 2019, Camilla obtained a Master's degree in Architecture for the Sustainable Project at Politecnico di Torino in 2021 and a double degree at Politecnico di Milano, having attended the honours programme of the Alta Scuola Politecnica.
Significant experiences during her studies include Erasmus at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, an internship at the Lazio Region’s urban planning office, and an internship at the G*AA architecture studio in Turin.


Bartol Oremović
Architectural Intern
Graduated in 2021 as a Master in Architecture and Urban planning in the University of Zagreb, Croatia.
Participated in an Erasmus+ student exchange in Lisbon in 2019/20, where he attended classes on urban planning and design, which became his main field of professional interest. As well as having a personal affinity toward computation and parametric design, he also appreciates technological inovation in general.


MARIE PÉTRAULT
Architecture Intern
Marie graduated in 2021 from La Cambre Horta Faculty of Architecture in Brussels with a master’s thesis that gravitates to new reflections and tools from the work of Ooze architects questioning the architectural paradigm in the context of climate change.
She did a one year Erasmus in Istanbul Bilgi University, where she became fascinated with nature/culture relationships, studying a watershed and the wonderful system of water and its urban management at all scales in order to raise awareness, clean up, prevent flooding and connect people to the water. She has participated in workshops in Shanghai, Detroit, and Targu Mures. Marie joined CRA in March 2022.


Sara Porporato
Legal Counsel
Sara studied law in Turin, taking part in an exchange program with the Georgetown Law University during that time before her graduation in 2015.
Having years of experience working in the field of corporate and commercial law, both in leading law firms and as in-house legal counsel, she joined the CRA team and advises the CRA group on a wide range of legal and business issues. In addition to having a passion for her job, she loves traveling and reading novels.


EMANUELE ROSSETTI
Group CEO
Emanuele Rossetti (born 1969 in Turin, Italy) is an Italian engineer, educated at Politecnico di Torino and City of London Polytechnic. He holds a PhD in applied mechanics and has taught robot’s mechanics at Politecnico di Torino.
A seasoned executive with experience and interest in high growth businesses, Rossetti has a strong track record in developing, structuring, and executing big projects in public organizations (head of Overlay department for the Torino Organizing Committee for the XX Winter Olympic Games, from bidding process in 2001 to closing ceremony in 2006) as well as in private companies (CEO of Nussli Italia, from the foundation of the company in 2007 to securing and managing large construction projects for the Universal Expo Milano in 2015). Since 2016, Rossetti has been CEO of Makr Shakr, the maker of the world’s first robotic bar. Since 2019, he has been CEO of the CRA group (owner of Makr Shakr) leveraging his creativity and innovation capabilities. His skills at designing and managing complex processes and relationships, and his ability to recruit and manage high-performing teams, are supporting the growth and the differentiation of the group.


JAMES SCHRADER
Project Manager / Senior Designer
From 2014 to 2017, James worked for Only If, an innovative practice for architecture and urbanism in New York City.
Previously, James spent a year in Moscow at the Strelka Institute’s research residency program, and also worked most notably on regional planning research for the Shrinking Cities Project in Berlin, a facade installation for the Shenzhen Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism, and master plans for new districts in Los Angeles, New York, and Kuala Lumpur. He holds a Master of Architecture from Yale and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from Princeton. James joined CRA in 2018.


INA SEFGJINI
Architect
Ina graduated with full marks with a Master degree in “Architecture, Construction and City” at Politecnico di Torino in July 2018.
Her Master’s thesis “Enhancing the Rural” aimed to reinforce the existing Chinese rural fabric through a new urban design proposal to generate social and economic benefits for future inhabitants. Last year she joint EFFEKT in Copenhagen as a Junior Architect where she worked on several urban transformation projects in Denmark. She joined CRA in 2015 for an internship and then came back in October 2018 as a Junior Architect.


Anna Spaggiari
Architect
Anna graduated in Architectural Design at Politecnico di Milano in 2019 with a thesis about the urban transformation of the city of Sydney, where she spent two semesters as an exchange student at the University of Technology of Sydney (UTS). During her studies she took part into several urban design workshops in South Korea, Italy and Denmark.
After work experiences in Sydney and Milan, in September 2019 she joined MAD Architects first in the main office in Beijing then in the European branch in Rome, where she worked for several medium to large scale projects and competitions, focusing on 3D modelling of complex geometries and visualizations. She took part in the design development for the renovation of the Fenix Warehouse in Rotterdam. Anna joined CRA in January 2022.


FRANCESCO STROCCHIO
Project Manager / Senior Architect
Francesco graduated from the Politecnico di Torino in 2010 with a Master thesis on informal settlements in Mumbai that was selected as one of the World’s Best Graduation Projects in Archiprix 2011.
As an architect, Francesco has studied and worked in Turin, Turku (Finland), Madrid, Brussels, Boston and Mumbai developing an attentive attitude to multidisciplinary and dynamic environments. From 2010 to 2014, Francesco worked with MARC Architetti Associati in Turin developing concept and construction design for important residential, exhibit and office buildings. In 2011, within the project Situa.to/ Your city, he conceived and curated the projects “I muri di Mirafiori, Volodja” with Wu Ming 1 and “Cantiere Barca” with Raumlabor in Turin. Francesco joined CRA in November 2014 working on challenging CRA works as Agnelli Foundation HQ, Italian pavilion Expo 2020, the Greenary and Venchi.


Marika Tomasi
Architect / Early Stage Researcher
Marika graduated in Architectural Engineering at the University of Trento in 2019, with a thesis on climate adaptation that combined the urban planning practice and the meteorological modelling potential.
To gather different perspectives about her research, she spent a three-months exchange period at the Technical University of Munich. She has developed a great interest in analysis and modelling instruments, which can support the design process and contribute to the evaluation of the proposal’s effectiveness. After a brief working experience in landscape planning, now she is an Early Stage Researcher for the European Industrial Doctorate project SOLOCLIM: with her research on climate-responsive systems, she aims to promote urban adaptation and improve outdoor climate conditions with a multi-scale approach.
Paulina Toscano
Chief of Staff
Paulina is an Art Manager and visual expert with more than 8 years of experience. She holds a Master’s degree in Art Management and Cultural Tourism from the Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis and a Master’s Degree in Photography from Raffles Institute in Milano in 2019.
She has worked and collaborated in places of different nature among international scenarios, from Contemporary Art Galleries to consultancy as an art manager collaborating with artists by creating structures for their work and creativity, to Contemporary Art Studios with a focus on architecture. She joined CRA in 2022.


GIOVANNI TROGU
Senior Architect
Giovanni graduated cum laude in Architecture at the Politecnico di Milano in July 2017 with the thesis “Identity in the making: from conservation to transmission of local identity through architecture.” His research investigates how architectural identity is evolving with digital and parametric design tools and the consequences it has on social and cultural patterns.
Giovanni has collaborated with the Urban Simulation Laboratory at the Politecnico di Milano, experimenting with dynamic VR experiences and techniques to support the design process. He has also worked as a teaching assistant and digital consultant for environmental analysis and parametric design at the 5th year design studio. After having worked as integrated project coordinator, he joined CRA in January 2018.


Gizem Veral
Junior Architect
Gizem was born in 1995 in Istanbul, Turkey. She is currently continuing her postgraduate studies at Politecnico di Torino, majoring in Architecture for Sustainability design.
She continues to work as a freelancer while studying. During the pandemic, she co-founded an atelier that designs and builds the interior of tiny houses and camper vans. She is still working on the design process for the atelier.


ANDRE ZANOLLA
Architect
Andre is a full-time creative focused on designing impactful architecture and low-cost modular structures. He studied architecture and urbanism at the University of Sao Paulo and worked with BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group in Copenhagen and Andrade Morettin AA in Sao Paulo. He currently leads a multidisciplinary research group focused on reimagining spaces through architecture, Democratic Architects, based in Sao Paulo and operational worldwide.
During the 2020 pandemic, he was responsible for developing mass healthcare infrastructure to actively combat covid-19 in Brazil. He has also presented his works in the 2018 Biennale di Venezia and the 2020 Tbilisi Biennial, and was awarded First Prize at EXPO UIA 2020 in Rio de Janeiro for social housing, and also Honourable Mention at the 58th Institute of Brazilian Architects Annual Prize.


FILIPPO ZANOTTO
Group CFO
Filippo was born in Turin where he graduated in Industrial Engineering and Management in July 2015. He has been the Group CFO since 2019, overseeing the financial activities for CRA and its affiliated start-ups.
As a student, he worked for sport and entertainment associations, dealing with events and cultural activities organization and he was operative within BasicNet logistics department. He joined the Makr Shakr team in 2015 and was involved in events and business development for the first couple of years, successfully bringing the robotic bar across Europe, US and Asia. In 2017, he became CFO of Makr Shakr during an intense scale up phase of the startup.


MATTEO ZERBI
Senior Architect
Matteo is an architect and a graphic designer with experience in design, planning and research in different countries such as Lebanon, Argentina, India, Italy, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos and the United Kingdom.
He holds an MSc in Architecture and Urban Planning and has collaborated with teams from different cultural and social backgrounds, such as Catalytic Action, empowering communities through strategic and innovative spacial interventions. Throughout his career, he has focused his personal interest and professional research on vernacular architecture, slum upgrading, landscape structures, art, graphics and participatory engagement. Matteo joined CRA in November 2017.


GIANLUCA ZIMBARDI
Architect / 3D Artist
Gianluca holds a degree in Architecture for Sustainable Projects from the Politecnico di Torino, with a thesis regarding the Guggenheim Helsinki Design Competition (with publication as meritorious argument). During his time at university, he joined a series of participatory planning workshops, including “Designing public spaces of interaction” and “Redevelopment of the area Ex-Macello in Moncalieri.”
He has been a teaching assistant for the Architecture Design workshop at the Politecnico di Torino, and together with Professor Roberto Apostolo co-organized the “Metamorphosis art / architecture” international design workshop for students at the Castello di Rivoli Contemporary Art Museum. He is passionate about the world of architectural visualization at large: renders, graphics and animation. He joined CRA in September 2016.