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.
01 · Residential · 2024
Casa Travertino
A courtyard house in Puglia carved around an old olive tree. Travertine, lime plaster, deep shade.
02 · Cultural · Reuse
Fondazione Lume
Adaptive reuse of a 1930s printworks into a contemporary art foundation. Milan.
03 · Residential · Timber
Rifugio Sasso
A timber mountain refuge detailed to survive alpine winters and frame a single view.
04 · Commercial · Infill
Libreria Verticale
A narrow infill bookshop — four floors of oak shelving around a single skylight.
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.
Material honesty · Daylight · Longevity · Context
Commissions
We take 3–4 projects per year. Early conversations welcome.
Fee as a percentage of works, typical minimum €40,000
Background
Principal Architect · Studio Rossi
Founded a practice focused on residential and adaptive-reuse projects. 20+ completed works.
Project Architect · Herzog & de Meuron
Led detailing on two cultural buildings, from competition to completion.
M.Arch — Politecnico di Milano 2009
Exchange, Architecture — ETH Zürich 2008
Residential · Adaptive reuse · Detailing · Rhino + Grasshopper · Material research · Site strategy
Words
“Elena designed a house that feels like it was always there. Living in it is like exhaling.”
Recognition
- Dezeen Awards — Longlist 2024
- The Plan Award — Housing 2023
- Lectured at Politecnico di Milano