The studio

Before you transform a building, you have to understand it.

The studio comes from two different backgrounds: Italian technical practice, made of land registry, regulation and site work, and the Portuguese school of architecture, attentive to the relationship between building and landscape.

Every job begins with a measurement. Buildings we survey with a laser scanner, which yields the point cloud the model grows from; ground we survey with a drone and GPS topographic instruments, for levelled plans and terrain models. It is the difference between designing on a drawing and designing on what is actually there.

We work mostly on existing buildings — family houses, rural structures, warehouses to convert — with two criteria that run through every project: energy efficiency and natural materials. It is the hardest work, and the one that interests us most.

Who we are

Two professions, one method

Giacomo Lombardo

Surveyor

I am a surveyor trained in Italy and I have been in independent practice since 1990.

A passion for my work and an interest in environmental questions have led me, over the years, to look closely at the relationship between a building, its services and the context they sit in.

I turned to the CasaClima protocol early on, following specific training and developing detailed expertise in energy efficiency, the integration of building services, and energy saving applied to buildings.

Surveyors’ Association of Florence

Education

Diploma in SurveyingI.T.G. Salvemini, Florence — IT: 1979 – 1983

Professional experience

Professional traineeshipTangram Architetture: 1987 – 1990
Independent practice: 1990 – oggi

Inês Cavadas

Architect

I am a Portuguese architect, trained in Portugal and working as an independent practitioner in Italy since 2020.

Daily contact with Italy’s built heritage has deeply shaped the way I design, and has given me a strong respect for the architecture of the past. I believe in interventions that speak with what is already there, that preserve its identity and accompany its evolution without overturning it.

Ordem dos Arquitectos — Portugal · no. 29877
Order of Architects of Florence · no. 9741

Education

Master’s degree in ArchitectureUniversity of Coimbra — PT: 2013 – 2020

Professional experience

Freelance graphic designer: 2013 – oggi
Remote independent practiceClients worldwide: 2020 – oggi
Collaboration with the surveyor Giacomo Lombardo: 2020 – oggi

How we work

Five steps, no surprises

If you have never commissioned a project before, this is what happens from the first meeting to the end of the works.

Listening
A first meeting with no obligation, at the studio or on site. We work out what you need, what is possible and what it costs. The outcome is a written quote with timings and figures, not a verbal estimate.
Survey
We measure what is there: a laser scanner for buildings, a drone and GPS topographic instruments for ground and levelled plans. We check cadastral and planning compliance: this is when discrepancies surface, far better now than once work has started.
Design
We draw in BIM: plans, sections, services and materials all live in a single coherent model. You see the result in 3D and in renderings before a single brick is touched, while changing your mind still costs nothing.
Permits
We prepare and file the applications: municipality, heritage authority, structural office, land registry, energy certification. We handle the dealings with the authorities and keep you informed on the status of each one.
Construction
Site supervision, cost accounting, safety coordination. We check that what gets built is what was drawn, and we close with the certificate of occupancy and the land registry update.