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About us

The firm was founded in Rome in 1982 by Maria Laura Arlotti, Michele Beccu, Paolo Desideri and Filippo Raimondo.

ABDR activities are carried out combining modern professional practice and didactic scientific research, and are regularly published in many national and international magazines and dedicated monographs. It is one of the most important professional studios on the Italian and international scene. Its work is focused on great infrastructural projects in the public and private sectors and on architecture at a high level of complexity. ABDR is member of the OICE and has always cooperated with international building companies and gained important commissions in Italy and abroad, such as Algeria, Morocco and Kazakhstan.

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Exhibitions

Several museums of architecture and international cultural institutions have exhibited ABDR design works. The studio has often been invited at the Venice Biennale and the Milan Triennale, and has also represented Italian design in many official architectural events. In 1997 ABDR held a personal exhibition at the AAM gallery in Milan and in 2007 at the Académie Royale in Brussels. It represented Italy at the Shanghai Expo in 2010. The Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Tourism recognised the projects of the New Tiburtina Station and the Florence Opera House as artistic works of national interest (Italian Law 633/1941 on the protection of copyright). Moreover, since 2013, some of the Studio's projects have been included in the permanent collection of MAXXI, the Museum of 21st Century Arts.

Prizes and Awards

ABDR has been awarded with the “EuroSolar” prize for bioclimatic architecture in 2003 and the “Europe & Africa Property Awards” prize in 2010. 2012 the Studio was mentioned at the Gold Medal for Italian Architecture for two design works and had a nominee at the European Union Prize - Mies Van Der Rohe Award in 2013. The Opera House in Florence is awarded with the Inarch/ANCE 2014 national prize as best Italian work.

Founding members

ABDR acronym comes from the founders’ last name initials. A long journey which first began 40 years ago and continues today with the new generations. The Studio has successfully adapted to new key careers and in-house skills during four decades and especially following the untimely death of founder Maria Laura Arlotti.

Design architect, founder

Maria Laura Arlotti

(Rome 1955 - Rome 2018) Graduated in Rome in 1984, in 1980 she was Visiting scholar at the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in New York, (U.S.A). She was a Fellow at the Basso Foundation from 1990 to 1993 for the research programme "Development and quality of life in modern metropolitan planning". In 1994 she obtained her Specialisation in "Bio-ecological Architecture" at the ANAB - National Association for Bio-ecological Architecture and later specialised in "Bio-ecological Architecture and Sustainable Technologies for the Environment" at the ITACA Department of the University of Rome "La Sapienza" in 1996. In 1999 she obtained her PhD in Environmental Design at the Faculty of Architecture of Rome 'La Sapienza', ITACA Department. She was an Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Architecture "Ludovico Quaroni" of the University of Rome "La Sapienza", from 2001 to 2006, taking the course in Architectural Technology-Bioclimatic Design.
Architect designer, founder

Michele Beccu

(Cagliari 1952) Graduated in Rome in 1980, from 1981 to 1993 he taught at the Faculty of Architecture in Rome 'La Sapienza', and later at the Faculty of Architecture in Pescara. Since 2020, he has been Full Professor of Architectural and Urban Design; previously, since 2001, he was Associate Professor. He first taught at the Politecnico di Bari, and since 2015 at the Department of Architecture of Roma Tre, where he teaches Architectural Design and Theory of Architectural Research. He is a member of the Teaching Board of the PhD programme in 'Architecture: Heritage and Innovation'. He has been a consultant for architecture and landscape for the Municipalities of Rome, Lecce and the Province of Foggia.
He constantly carries out research activities and is the author of numerous essays and monographic contributions, including: Tre cantieri romani. Costruire nell'esistente tra storia e innovazione ed. AR Edizioni Roma 2017, Le forme del museo. Ragionamenti ed esercizi didattici ed. Gangemi Roma 2016, L'involucro architettonico tra linguaggio e costruzione ed. RDesignPress Roma 2008, La casa dei Maestri ed. Adda Bari 2007, Piccole Case ed. Adda Bari 2002.
Architect designer, founder

Paolo Desideri

(Rome 1953) He graduated in Architecture in Rome in 1980, and in the same year he was visiting scholar at the Institute for Architecture in New York (USA). He has been a tenured professor since 1985 and since 2000 he has been Full Professor of Architectural Design at the School of Architecture of the University "Roma Tre", where he coordinates the PhD programme "Landscapes of the Contemporary City". He has been Visiting Professor in many international Schools of Architecture including: Washington University (Seattle, USA), Bauhaus (Dessau, Germany), Faculty of Architecture of Rome "La Sapienza", Bildende Kunst Akademie (Vienna, Austria), Waterloo University (Toronto, Canada), University of Novisad (Serbia). From 1998 to 2002 he was a member of the Evaluation Unit for Public Investments at the Ministry of Treasury, Finance and Economic Planning. He was co-director of Gomorra. Territories and Cultures of the Contemporary Metropolis from 1998 to 2002. He has been a member of the Scientific Committee of Industria Italiana delle Costruzioni since 2016.
He is the author of numerous essays and monographs in the field, among which we should at least mention: International Style? Alle origini del contemporaneo, ed. Meltemi 2004, Città di latta, ed. Meltemi 2002, Ex-city, ed. Meltemi 2002, La città di latta, favelas di lusso, autogrill, svincoli stradali e antenne paraboliche, ed. Costa&Nolan 1997, Attraversamenti: i nuovi territori dello spazio pubblico, ed. Costa&Nolan 1997, Pier Luigi Nervi, ed. Zanichelli 1979.
Architect designer, founder

Filippo Raimondo

(Cefalù 1953)
He graduated in Rome in 1980, and in the same year he was Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Architecture and Urban studies in New York (USA). He was a lecturer at the European Institute of Design in Rome, and subsequently Professor of Architectural Design at the Faculty of Architecture in Ascoli Piceno, University of Camerino. Since 1997 he has been a tenured professor at the Faculty of Architecture in Pescara, G. d'Annunzio University, where he is currently Associate Professor of Architectural and Urban Design. He has held lectures, seminars and conferences at many Italian and foreign cultural and university institutions. From 1995 to 1997 he was a speaker at 'Progetto Italia' at the Italian-Latin American Institute in Rome. He is the author of essays and specialised texts. An extensive collection of his writings was published in Le Ragioni della forma by Sala Editori.

Meet the team

A multidisciplinary team of skills committed to all aspects of integrated Architectural Design, including specific professionals with experience in the fields of Urban Planning, Landscape Design, Engineering (structures and plants), Sustainable Architecture and its processes, Flow Management, Interior Design and Light Design.

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Elisabetta Antonellis

Designer, Materials manager

Antonella Antonilli

Architect, BIM manager

Angela Arnone

Architect

Tommaso Berretta

Architect, project manager

Valentina Bianchi

Architect, BIM Specialist

Nicola Bissanti

Architect, Project manager

Davide Bonifaci

Junior Architect

Camilla Calviello

Architect, Project and Technical Manager

Lorenzo Cannas

Doctor of Architecture

Isabella Cardinale

Architect, project manager and BIM specialist

Emanuele Clementi

Architect, project manager

Camilla Desideri

Crowd dynamics specialist

Federico Desideri

Architect, project manager and landscape architect

Julia Forte

Architect, project manager

Valentina Ianno

Administrative Office

Paola Laner

Architect, Administrative Manager

Luca Maria Lo Muzio Lezza

Architect, project manager

Mauro Merlo

Architect, project manager and engineering coordinator

Roberta Miele

Architect

Giovanna Mirabella

Press Office

Emanuela Nocca

Tender Office

Gloria Pallocca

Doctor of Architecture

Marta Panella

Architect

Alessia Piazza

Architect, restorer

Gijs Pyckevet

Architect, project manager and Fire Protection Professional

Gabriele Raimondo

Architect, project manager

Anna Maria Salvato

Administrative Office

Camilla San Mauro

Light designer

Rossella Sibilio

Architect, project manager and urban planner

Giorgia Specchio

Architect, LEED accredited professional (AP)

Vittoria Stefanini

Architect, project manager

Previous collaborators

Yasmine Alaoui, Elena Baccari, Laura Barbieri, Barbara Battelli, Valeria Bergamo, Elisa Bertoni, Davide Bertugno, Melania Bisegna, Anna Błażewicz, Francesco Bracci, Davide Breschi, Palma Bucarelli, Gianmarco Buccolieri, Laura Buonfrate, Miriam Camerini, Vincenzo Cannata, Lorenzo Castelli, Matteo Cavuoti, Silvia Cesareni, Eugénie Chavanes, Laura Cicchinelli, Alessandro Ciocci, Josh Colleluori, Marina Congestrì, Danilo Crivella, Davide D'Addazio, Félicia de La Tullaye, Mia Dei Cas, Ambra Del Frate, Lucia De Vincenti, Angela De Vita, Viola Di Giò, Cecilia Falcone, Ylenia Donati, Carlota Galàn Daries, Sibilla Frattaroli, Silvia Giachetti, Ilaria Gizzi, Alice Grondona, Salma Khaldi, Danilya Khutbeeva, Shen Fei Lam, Adele Lattanzi, Francesca Leonori, Patrizia Maiurano, Massimiliano Mastracci, Giordano Maurizi, Alessandro Mirante, Edoardo Mosca, Hadi Mounajed, Federico Naddeo, Claudia Natili, Claudia Pagani, Martina Perris, Beatrice Jlenia Pesce, Emanuela Petrucci, Marco Thomas Piacentini, Stefano Pieretti, Alessandro Pogany, Sofia Prinzi, Beatrice Prosperetti, Franco Recarte, Angelo Roco Ramirez, Luisa Scambia, Chiara Schina, Alessandro Selvaggi, Matteo Serra, Roberto Simeone, Ilaria Soreca, Livia Spanò, Romila Strub, Luz Teran, Claudia Tersigni, Daniele Tricarico, Jessica Trani, Nicolò Troianello, Chern Li Yoong 

ADDRESS

Via delle Conce, 20
00154 Rome
Italy

T: (+39) 06 57250470-57
E: info@abdr.it

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