For us, architecture must have a sense of place and beauty in its immediate context. Renato's architecture draws inspiration from past masters and civilizations, attempting to represent the present with a desire to leave enduring buildings for the future. We draw inspiration and references from areas as wide as possible. Our object is to create an evocative architecture that satisfies the human need for textural and tactile expressions and calms or stimulates the senses with light and shade, space and materiality, reducing complexity to achieve clarity and simplicity thus emphasising the ephemeral elements that good architecture can generate.
Renato is the Creative Director and is responsible for all conceptual designs, with a rigorous review at each stage of the project.
We have received numerous awards and recognition, including for Solis which received the coveted 'National Architecture Award for Residential Architecture' from the Australian Institute of Architects, along with the 'Robin Dods Award for Residential Architecture' from the Queensland Chapter of the AIA. The National Award is the most significant residential architecture prize awarded in Australia. GB House received the 'Wilkinson Award'; the most significant residential prize awarded in the state of NSW.
Born in Italy, moved to Australia with his family in the 1960s, and studied architecture at the University of Technology, Sydney. In 1984 Renato lived in Sardinia, Italy investigating many architectural sites around the Mediterranean islands. He worked for Pier Luigi Nervi and Paolo Portoghesi in Rome and Harry Seidler and Romaldo Giurgola in Sydney.
Renato started his solo practice in 1990 after a commission for a house in South Coogee. The house, with a magnificent site by the sea, inspired Renato to take the opportunity to forge a personal path within the plurality of the modern architectural milieu. The personal path chosen has manifested itself not only in his design values but also in the practice of his architecture; an intuitive way of working in which projects are allowed to develop through revision and modification.
