Qualifications: Professional Degree Architecture, MSc Conservation Title: Architect Conservator, HIC partner Projects role: Project managerElisa’s professional focus over the past 15 years has been conservation and regeneration projects, urban design applied to upgrading. She has been involved in numerous creative and sustainable urban design projects in Italy and abroad.
Her design approach is rooted in the philosophy that exceptional places are shaped by the thoughtful integration of context, imagination, sustainability, economics and pragmatic development. At its core, the idea of community should represent a place that enriches the lives and experiences of all its people and fosters social equity.
Her competencies include site planning, site regeneration and redevelopment, preparation of design guidelines and production of planning document.
Qualifications: Master Degree in Architecture and, Ph.d.Candidate Title: Architect, HIC partner Projects role: Architect and Urban DesignerElisa Vendemini is a Ph.D. at the Department of Architecture and Arts at Università Iuav di Venezia. She graduated with honors from Iuav in 2016, with a thesis on the reconstruction of Aleppo in Syria and in 2018 participated in a postgraduate program in Urban Heritage and Global Tourism.
Her research focuses on the sustainable regeneration and reconstruction of urban spaces affected by social, environmental, climatic and economic pressures. Since 2016 she has been teaching assistant for degree, master, workshop and postgraduate courses at Iuav. She was employed as a consultant and researcher at Aga Khan Trust for Culture, American University of Beirut in Lebanon and Escola da Cidade in Brazil. She is currently part of the Iuav research team Urbicide Task Force and FEEM - Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei. Elisa has excellent skills in coordinating and combining different multidisciplinary aspects involving projects.
Qualifications: Master Degree in Architecture Title: Architect, HIC Partner Projects role: Architect, BIM manager Rossella graduated in 2016 in Architecture at the Iuav University of Venice with the thesis Sustainable Reconstruction for Aleppo: Informal Settlements. Immediately after graduating she gained professional experience in the Netherlands, also dealing with social housing and urban development in Mauritania, Mali and Burundi collaborating with LEVS Architecten.
Thanks to her thesis she was also involved as a consultant at the Aga Khan Trust for Culture for a damage assessment and urban conservation in three areas of the historical core of Aleppo and other restoration interventions in historical sites in Asia. In 2018 she partecipate in a postgraduate program in Urban Heritage and Global Tourism and throughout 2019 she deepened her research at Iuav on Sustainable housing solutions for post-war reconstruction of the MENA region. Rossella is currently based in the Netherlands where in recent years she has collaborated with architectural firms such as UNStudio and Barcode Architects on several international projects at all architectural scales and functions. She is able to manage all phases of the project and is specialized in the coordination and management of BIM.
Qualifications: Master Degree in Architecture and Ph.d.Candidate Title: Architect, HIC Partner Projects role: Urban Designer, Visualizer After graduation in 2018 in Architecture with a thesis on new technologies and solutions for sustainable housing, Valerio began collaborating with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture on several projects, including the Lahore Fort Master Plan.
In 2019, he spent six months in Malaysia working for Think City on renovation and conservation projects in the George Town World Heritage Site. Currently he is running a design studio in Rome and Phd with La Sapienza University in Architectural Technology s, consultancy work is focused on energy efficiency and retrofitting older structures. Valerio is a proficient draughtsman capable of handling technical details and complex tridimensional visuals. He is also highly skilled in various digital programs, including Autocad, Sketchup, Vray, Twinmotion and Enscape.
Thanks to her thesis she was also involved as a consultant at the Aga Khan Trust for Culture for a damage assessment and urban conservation in three areas of the historical core of Aleppo and other restoration interventions in historical sites in Asia. In 2018 she partecipate in a postgraduate program in Urban Heritage and Global Tourism and throughout 2019 she deepened her research at Iuav on Sustainable housing solutions for post-war reconstruction of the MENA region. Rossella is currently based in the Netherlands where in recent years she has collaborated with architectural firms such as UNStudio and Barcode Architects on several international projects at all architectural scales and functions. She is able to manage all phases of the project and is specialized in the coordination and management of BIM.
Alessandro Pianetti della Stufa
Qualifications: Master degree in architecture
Title: Architect Founder studio SPTA | Partner, HIC Partner
Role: Architect, Project Manager, Landscape architect
Alessandro is an architect with experience in architectural conservation, historic building restoration and landscape design, with over 30 years of experience in Italy and abroad. Founder of “studio spta” and partner at HIC, he manages complex projects with a focus on sustainability, context, landscape and heritage.
As a project manager, Alessandro leads multidisciplinary teams through all phases of the project lifecycle—from concept to completion—ensuring coherence, efficiency, and open communication between clients, consultants, institutions, and contractors. His leadership is defined by strategic planning, attention to detail, and a strong outcome-oriented mindset.
His expertise includes landscape design, architectural restoration, strategic planning, preparation of design guidelines, and technical documentation. Through his studio and collaborations, Alessandro promotes an interdisciplinary process that balances innovation and conservation.
Qualifications: M. S. Historic Preservation; Diploma in Town Planning: Professional Degree in Architecture. Title: Technical Advisor Projects role: Preservation Planning and Urban DesignFrancesco is an architect, town planner and architectural conservation consultant, trained in Italy, Belgium and the USA, with forty plus years of experience. His past responsibilities encompass projects funded by the World Ban Group, UNESCO, UNDP, the Historic Cities Programme of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC).
He has formulated urban plans, programme strategies and project frameworks, developed and managed relations with international donors and national and local authorities, and written and produced related publications. Direct project implementation experience includes master planning, design services, project supervision and the delivery of post-construction documentation and publications. He has been visiting lecturer at ICCROM, the University of Rome and Cassino, and the University of Pennsylvania, as well as writte books, articles and papers on various architectural conservation and town planning subjects. His latest publication, Issues in Urban Conservation, was awarded the 2021 Antoinette Forrester Downing Book Award by the American Society of Architectural Historians.
In 2019, he spent six months in Malaysia working for Think City on renovation and conservation projects in the George Town World Heritage Site. Currently he is running a design studio in Rome and Phd with La Sapienza University in Architectural Technology s, consultancy work is focused on energy efficiency and retrofitting older structures. Valerio is a proficient draughtsman capable of handling technical details and complex tridimensional visuals. He is also highly skilled in various digital programs, including Autocad, Sketchup, Vray, Twinmotion and Enscape.
Thanks to her thesis she was also involved as a consultant at the Aga Khan Trust for Culture for a damage assessment and urban conservation in three areas of the historical core of Aleppo and other restoration interventions in historical sites in Asia. In 2018 she partecipate in a postgraduate program in Urban Heritage and Global Tourism and throughout 2019 she deepened her research at Iuav on Sustainable housing solutions for post-war reconstruction of the MENA region. Rossella is currently based in the Netherlands where in recent years she has collaborated with architectural firms such as UNStudio and Barcode Architects on several international projects at all architectural scales and functions. She is able to manage all phases of the project and is specialized in the coordination and management of BIM.
Stefania Petralla
Qualifications: M.Sc. Architecture & Urban design. PhD in Architecture & Urban Design. Post-Doctoral fellowship at SOAS and LMEI Title: Architect and Urban Planner Project Role: PreservationPlanning and Urban Design ARB Registered Architect, with 15 years of working experience on projects related to heritage and the built environment and a record in the study of traditional design of the historic built fabrics and in the identification of the processes for the regeneration of historic towns, and the redevelopment of urban networks.
She pursued a Master Degree in Architecture and Urban Design with a first grade, focusing on design and planning in historic built areas; during her PhD mastering the same topics, she was a Visiting Fellow at the Shahid Beheshti University of Tehran in 2011 and at UPENN of Philadelphia in 2012. Two years later, in 2014, she was awarded the Iran Heritage Foundation Research Fellowship at the LMEI within SOAS in London. Focused on morpho-typological and functional aspects of traditional buildings and fabrics, and with experience in developing and managing projects in the Mediterranean Basin, MENA Region, and Central Asia with multidisciplinary teams for architectural, archaeological and cultural heritage sites. She is an Autodesk Certified Revit with a specific interest in HBIM Italian mother tongue, fully proficient in English and fair knowledge of both Persian and Spanish.
In 2019, he spent six months in Malaysia working for Think City on renovation and conservation projects in the George Town World Heritage Site. Currently he is running a design studio in Rome and Phd with La Sapienza University in Architectural Technology s, consultancy work is focused on energy efficiency and retrofitting older structures. Valerio is a proficient draughtsman capable of handling technical details and complex tridimensional visuals. He is also highly skilled in various digital programs, including Autocad, Sketchup, Vray, Twinmotion and Enscape.
Thanks to her thesis she was also involved as a consultant at the Aga Khan Trust for Culture for a damage assessment and urban conservation in three areas of the historical core of Aleppo and other restoration interventions in historical sites in Asia. In 2018 she partecipate in a postgraduate program in Urban Heritage and Global Tourism and throughout 2019 she deepened her research at Iuav on Sustainable housing solutions for post-war reconstruction of the MENA region. Rossella is currently based in the Netherlands where in recent years she has collaborated with architectural firms such as UNStudio and Barcode Architects on several international projects at all architectural scales and functions. She is able to manage all phases of the project and is specialized in the coordination and management of BIM.
Riccardo Montalbano
Qualifications: Ph.D. in Ancient Topography Title: Archaeologist, University Researcher, Senior GIS Specialist and Data Manager Projects role: GIS Specialist, Data Manager, Information System DesignerRiccardo Montalbano is an archaeologist, university researcher, Senior GIS Specialist and Data Manager with extensive experience in the design, implementation and management of digital information systems for cultural heritage.
He specialises in GIS architecture, geodatabase design, spatial data modelling, WebGIS platforms, interoperability and the development of integrated workflows for the management, analysis and dissemination of cultural heritage data. He works extensively with several institutions of the Italian Ministry of Culture and on international heritage projects, designing geospatial infrastructures and data-management solutions to support archaeological research, conservation planning, heritage management and institutional decision-making.