Elena Rossi
Architect · Principal, Studio Rossi
Architect working at the seam between material and light. I design calm, durable spaces — homes, galleries, and the occasional stubborn renovation. Principal at Studio Rossi, Milan.
16
Years
22
Built works
7
Awards
About
I trained in Milan and apprenticed in Basel, where I learned that architecture is mostly about restraint — knowing what to leave out. My studio takes few projects a year so each gets the attention it needs. We work in concrete, oak, and daylight, and we design for the way a building ages: patina, not decay. Every project begins with a single question — how should it feel to arrive here?
Build spaces that are quiet now and still generous in thirty years.
Track Record
16 years designing residential and cultural architecture across Europe
Principal Architect
Studio Rossi
Founded a practice focused on residential and adaptive-reuse projects. 20+ completed works.
2016 – Present
Project Architect
Herzog & de Meuron
Led detailing on two cultural buildings, from competition to completion.
2011 – 2016
Education
M.Arch — Politecnico di Milano · 2009
Exchange, Architecture — ETH Zürich · 2008
Skills
Residential · Adaptive reuse · Detailing · Rhino + Grasshopper · Material research · Site strategy
Certifications
Registered Architect (OAM) — Ordine Architetti Milano (2010)
Works
Casa Travertino
A courtyard house in Puglia carved around an old olive tree. Travertine, lime plaster, deep shade.
Residential · 2024
Fondazione Lume
Adaptive reuse of a 1930s printworks into a contemporary art foundation. Milan.
Cultural · Reuse
Rifugio Sasso
A timber mountain refuge detailed to survive alpine winters and frame a single view.
Residential · Timber
Libreria Verticale
A narrow infill bookshop — four floors of oak shelving around a single skylight.
Commercial · Infill
Gallery
Casa Travertino — courtyard
Fondazione Lume — main hall
Detail — oak joinery
Rifugio Sasso at dusk
Services
We take 3–4 projects per year. Early conversations welcome.
Fee as a percentage of works, typical minimum €40,000
Word on the Street
“Elena designed a house that feels like it was always there. Living in it is like exhaling.”
Honors
- ★ Dezeen Awards — Longlist 2024
- ★ The Plan Award — Housing 2023
- ★ Lectured at Politecnico di Milano