OBICUA is a studio based in Rome and Milan. Led by the partners Massimiliano Brugia, Valerio Campi and Lucia Catenacci, OBICUA is the natural evolution and expansion of Bicuadro Architecture whose projects, from 2008 to the present, have won numerous prizes and awards both nationally and internationally.
The name OBICUA perfectly represents this sense of evolution. In addition to recalling the name of the original studio, it derives from the Latin ubique, "in every place": an ideal synthesis of the vision and scope of the eclectic team of architects, based as much on ubiquity as on overcoming boundaries, geographical and otherwise only.
The OBICUA portfolio includes projects in Europe, Africa, Asia and America in different areas: from tourist accommodation to hospitals, from residential to the academic, passing through civil, commercial and sports buildings as well as multi-purpose complexes.
OBICUA is a versatile and design-oriented signature that, while maintaining local inspiration, sees the entire team constantly involved beyond its own perimeter of action, with small and large scale projects. The design of OBICUA is inspired by both the historical-artistic and the natural context, combining the best of Italian tradition with excellent design.
Already at the time of the Bicuadro study, the OBICUA team was recognized in 2010 as the title of "Young Italian Architects" as the best Italian under-40 studio, as well as having presented its achievements in important universities and cultural institutions such as MAXXI, National Museum of XXI Century Arts in Rome, and the XIII Venice Biennale.
Linked by a creative rouge file, the Rome and Milan offices are the nerve centers and operational centers of the OBICUA team, constituting a reference point for architects, artists, designers and creatives.
In particular, the Roman Factory, which has taken the place of an old Alfa Romeo workshop located on the ancient Via Flaminia, presents itself as a unique studio with a modern and minimal style, an office-atelier that wants to be the manifesto of the approach of OBICUA to architecture. B.I.C. Milan, created together with MST Engineering and CAPASSO Metal Design and intended as a new space for architecture, engineering and design. Built within the area of the former Magazzini Generali, a few steps away from the Prada foundation and bordering the IED, the loft is a cutting-edge working space, ideal for hosting exhibitions and events in one of the most popular areas sparkling of cultural and artistic Milan.
2. Vision and philosophy
"We have a global vision and local inspiration": this has always been the motto of the OBICUA team. From private residences to public buildings, the study always takes into account the problems linked to the inhabitants, the natural landscape and the historical context of the place where it will operate. Past and future come together so perfectly in their visionary and innovative design that aspires, through architecture, to make the world a better place for those who live there.
In fact, the architecture of OBICUA marries the LEED philosophy (Leardership in Energy and Environmental Design), based on a bio-sustainable approach based on energy saving and respect for natural resources, aimed at limiting global warming. The firm also uses, in its work, innovative technologies such as BIM (Building Information Modeling), which through the design with three-dimensional models allows total control of all the elements that make up the artifact and instruments. The combination of 3D graphics with hand-drawn sketches, models and drawings, creates a design that aspires to be timeless.
3. Story
OBICUA was founded in 2019 by architects Massimiliano Brugia, Valerio Campi and Lucia Catenacci, all graduates from the University of Rome "La Sapienza", Faculty of Architecture Valle Giulia. Born as the avant-garde branch of Bicuadro Architetti, of which it is the natural evolution and expansion. The name OBICUA strongly recalls the desire and the momentum of the studio to go beyond its own borders, in order to design and carry out new jobs in different countries of the world. The OBICUA technique, combined with the creativity and professionalism of the team, offers its customers the right design and construction supervision.
Along the lines of the work carried out with the Bicuadro studio, which have yielded several publications in international trade magazines and articles translated into more than 10 languages, the design team continues to devote itself to major projects, some of which are in emerging countries with more rapid urban growth, thanks to the experience gained working in metropolises like Accra (Ghana), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Ulan Bator (Mongolia). The same experience that earned Bicuadro several prizes and awards.
