Rome is a city that resists simplification. Here, every project enters into dialogue with a living material made of history, layers, urban proportions, memory, and constant transformation. But it would be reductive to read the Italian capital only through the weight of its past. Today, Rome is also an open laboratory, shaped by new ways of living, a different relationship between home and work, growing attention to the quality of space, the regeneration of existing buildings, and the balance between identity and innovation. In this context, looking at architecture firms in Rome means understanding who is interpreting the present with the greatest clarity and who is helping imagine the city to come.
What follows is not a rigid ranking or an absolute list, because architecture cannot really be ordered in a schematic way. It is an editorial selection of 20 architecture firms in Rome worth knowing today: practices that differ in history, project scale, language, and approach, yet are united by a recognizable design presence and a credible vision of how to work with space. We chose to include both established names, already well known in the Italian and international landscape, and firms that stand out for their contemporary sensitivity, attention to changing ways of living, and ability to engage with Rome without falling into rhetoric or self-reference.
The criteria behind this selection include design quality, relevance within the Roman context, the recognizability of their architectural language, the consistency of their work over time, and their ability to respond intelligently to new questions around living, working, hospitality, and urban transformation. The result is a useful map for anyone looking for strong references in the capital: below is an editorial guide to the best architecture firms in Rome to watch today, names to follow and practices worth paying attention to, especially if you are looking for designers able to combine vision, method, sensitivity, and innovation.
How we selected these architecture firms in Rome
Our editorial selection was created to offer an in-depth look at some architecture firms in Rome worth knowing today. We chose practices that differ in language, trajectory, and type of work, bringing together both established names and firms that are especially interesting for their contemporary sensitivity.
The criteria that guided this selection include the quality of the design work, the consistency of each firm’s practice over time, its relevance within the Roman context, and its ability to interpret today’s living needs with intelligence. The result is a useful map for anyone looking for serious references in the capital and wanting to navigate firms worth watching closely.
20 architecture firms in Rome worth knowing today
Labics
Based in Rome and founded in 2002 by Maria Claudia Clemente and Francesco Isidori, Labics defines itself as an architecture and urban planning firm able to work across different scales, from interior architecture to urban masterplans. This breadth of scope, combined with an approach that brings together theoretical research and practical application, is one of the reasons why Labics naturally belongs in this selection: it represents a part of contemporary Roman architecture that moves between city, building, and interior space without losing coherence of language.
Alvisi Kirimoto
Founded by Massimo Alvisi and Junko Kirimoto in 2002, Alvisi Kirimoto is an international practice based in Rome working across architecture, urban planning, and design. In the official presentation of its work, the idea of a meeting between Italian and Japanese principles appears often, bringing together rigor, sensitivity to landscape, and careful attention to the scale of the project. This is also why we included it among the firms worth knowing in Rome today: its work offers a vision of architecture that is refined yet legible, capable of combining precision, contextual awareness, and spatial quality.
Studio Fuksas
Led by Massimiliano Fuksas and Doriana Fuksas, Studio Fuksas is an international practice with offices in Rome, Paris, and Shenzhen. Active for more than forty years and backed by over 600 projects, it is almost unavoidable in any selection dedicated to Rome, also because of its connection with works that have clearly shaped the city’s contemporary urban imagination, such as the New Rome Convention Center in EUR, the so-called Nuvola, described by the studio itself as the largest building constructed in Rome in more than fifty years. We included it for exactly this reason: for the objective weight of its trajectory, the recognizability of its language, and its ability to transform an architectural intervention into an immediately legible urban landmark.
ABDR Architetti Associati
ABDR was founded in Rome in 1982 by Maria Laura Arlotti, Michele Beccu, Paolo Desideri, and Filippo Raimondo, and continues its work today with new generations of designers. The firm describes a practice spanning public and private sectors, major infrastructure and cultural works, and, more broadly, projects with a high level of complexity; among the projects shown on its website is PINQuA Tor Bella Monaca, confirming a concrete relationship with Rome and with themes of urban transformation. It is part of our selection precisely because of this continuity: it tells the story of a solid design practice able to work on complex programs without giving up sensitivity to context.
Nemesi
Nemesi is based in Rome and presents its work through a number of sharply defined key ideas: the beauty of complexity, identity, “impact+” cities, and the integration of creative design, data, and technology. Its official pages also reveal a strong focus on urban regeneration, as seen in the masterplan for the former Rome Trade Fair, conceived as an integrated and innovative district capable of generating urban quality and social cohesion. We chose to include Nemesi because it effectively represents a line of contemporary Italian architecture that does not separate form, innovation, and urban vision, but instead tries to hold these dimensions together within a recognizable approach.
SCAPE
Founded in Rome in 2004, SCAPE is a practice working across architecture, landscape, and planning, with an international dimension that over the years has expanded to Paris and Milan as well. It belongs in this selection because it clearly conveys the idea of a firm able to navigate complex programs and different scales while maintaining a clear and recognizable design vision.
modostudio
modostudio, or Cibinel Laurenti Martocchia Architetti Associati, is a multidisciplinary practice based in Rome, active in architecture, urban planning, and industrial design. We included it because its profile brings together research, innovation, experimentation, and technical expertise, making it a credible presence within the contemporary Roman scene.
TStudio
Founded in 1992 and directed by Guendalina Salimei, TStudio works across architecture, research planning, landscape, restoration, interior design, and multimedia graphics. It is among the selected firms because its trajectory reflects a broad yet coherent practice, attentive both to urban transformation and to the cultural quality of design, with a recognizable presence in the Italian architectural debate.
Lazzarini Pickering Architetti
Lazzarini Pickering Architetti is a multidisciplinary practice with offices in Rome and Milan, known for working across architecture, urban masterplans, the renovation of historic buildings, hospitality, design, and branding. We included it because it represents a design approach capable of bringing together heritage, contemporary spaces, and a cross-disciplinary method, qualities that are especially relevant in a city like Rome.
3C+t Capolei Cavalli Architetti Associati
3C+t Capolei Cavalli is a Rome-based practice founded in 1960, with work ranging from architecture to interior design and a long history within the city. It is part of this selection because it combines continuity, identity, and the ability to engage with design in an extensive way, while maintaining a legible connection with Italian design culture and the Roman scene.
Westway Architects
Founded in Rome in 2005 and led by Luca Aureggi, Maurizio Condoluci, and Laura Franceschini, Westway Architects works on residential, cultural, and commercial projects, intervening both in existing buildings and new constructions, in Italy and abroad. We included it in this selection because it clearly represents a studio able to move consistently across different scales and programs, maintaining a solid and readable design profile within the Roman landscape.
SET Architects
SET Architects is a Rome-based practice founded and directed by Onorato di Manno and Andrea Tanci. In the official presentation of its work, one finds an idea of essential architecture built on the study of proportions and the use of simple geometries, with an approach that seeks to bring order to the complexity of the functional program. It is among the selected firms because this clarity of language is one of the elements that makes it especially recognizable today.
STUDIOTAMAT
STUDIOTAMAT is an Italian architecture and design practice based in Rome, established in 2014 through the collaboration of Tommaso Amato, Matteo Soddu, and Valentina Paiola. Its official website highlights attention to energy and environmental issues, industrial design, and detail, along with a method that seeks balance between the usability of space and the functionality of materials. We selected it because it intelligently interprets a contemporary sensibility that looks at living spaces without hardening into repetitive formulas.
Studio Transit
Studio Transit presents itself as a laboratory of ideas applied to reality, made up of a multigenerational and multidisciplinary team of architects, designers, urban planners, and engineers, based in Rome’s Ostiense district. It is part of this selection because it conveys the image of a broad design structure, technical but not closed, capable of combining collaboration, expertise, and operational vision.
insula architettura e ingegneria
Insula architettura e ingegneria is a company founded in 2002 by architects Eugenio Cipollone and Paolo Orsini together with engineer Roberto Lorenzotti. It defines itself as a practice active across architecture, urban design, and engineering, with projects ranging from the scale of the city and public space to interiors. We included it because this ability to work across different levels, with a strong grounding in both design and the city, makes it a credible presence within a selection dedicated to Rome.
IT’S
IT’S is a contemporary architecture practice founded in 2016 by Alessandro Cambi, Francesco Marinelli, and Paolo Mezzalama, with offices in Rome, Geneva, and Paris. It presents itself as a research- and innovation-oriented studio, with a vision that connects design, spatial quality, and a new “aesthetics of life.” We included it because it credibly interprets a contemporary sensitivity attentive to the ways people live, work, and experience space today.
orizzontale
orizzontale is a collective of architects based in Rome working across architecture, urban planning, public art, and DIY practices, with particular attention to shared spaces and to forms of interaction between citizens and common urban goods. It belongs in this selection because it proposes a less conventional but highly meaningful idea of design within the Roman context, especially when architecture engages with public space, relationships, and the collective use of the city.
2A+P/A
2A+P/A is a practice founded by Gianfranco Bombaci and Matteo Costanzo, based in Rome and active across architectural, urban, and landscape design. Official sources emphasize a clear interest in the contemporary city and a practice that moves across public and private buildings, housing, urban spaces, installations, and research. We selected it because it combines theoretical reflection and design capability, qualities that make it a relevant name for understanding Roman architecture today.
OFL Architecture
OFL Architecture is an interdisciplinary practice led by Francesco Lipari, presented as a studio founded in Rome and active across architecture, research, and emerging design processes; some sources also describe it as operating between Rome and Sicily. We included it because it brings a more experimental profile to the selection, attentive to the relationship between different disciplines and to the redefinition of the link between design and the contemporary city.
Schiattarella Associati
Schiattarella Associati is an architecture practice based in Rome, active in the fields of design, architecture, urban planning, research, and development. Its official website describes a well-established structure with an international outlook, while the firm’s history also confirms the relocation of its headquarters to Piazza Mincio in Rome in 2015. We selected it because it represents a solid and authoritative presence, capable of combining continuity, design vision, and strong roots in the Roman context.
Why these firms tell the story of the Rome that designs today
Looking at these architecture firms in Rome also means reading the moment the city is going through. On one side there remains the inevitable confrontation with history, the built environment, and the complex scale of a capital that does not allow superficial interventions. On the other, a form of design is emerging that is increasingly attentive to spatial quality, the transformation of existing buildings, new ways of living, and the need to hold together identity, function, and vision.
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