Matteo Cainer Architecture is an interdisciplinary practice, with a distinct conceptual approach to architecture and design. With projects that vary in scale from urban planning, landscape, building, and interiors, to the design of temporary installations, exhibition, and stage design, the work is informed by a continuously evolving dialogue with the cultural setting, nature, and the resulting intersections of different disciplines.

Established in London in 2010 and led by Matteo Cainer, the practice is committed to building and designing the highest quality projects. With a strong belief that design has the power to create change, it welcomes contamination and experimentation through both local collaboration and remote relationships, contributing thereby to sustainable solutions and the development of the practice internationally.

Composed of a small team of highly qualified and motivated individuals, we have structured ourselves with experts in urban design, architecture, landscaping and interiors. Working with multiple tools from advanced computing techniques to graphic design and model building has allowed the practice to flourish with new ambitions and renewed engagement and given us the acumen and expertise to lead each project every step of the way, always keeping an eye on the world and an ear to the ground.

Request MCA Portfolio

At the heart of our design philosophy lies an enthusiastic ambition to ingeniously meld cultural insight and new technologies through imaginative thinking - to seamlessly integrate history, technology, art, design and nature - generating an architecture that addresses contemporary issues and evolves through concepts as a series of built ideas.

The convergence of multicultural experiences and creative talent coupled with a keen sensitivity to spatial investigation results in intellectually stimulating and spatially complex architecture that not only responds to the existing environment, culture and politics but aspires to define an innovative vision of the future. Cultural insights and visionary experiences are intricately interwoven throughout our projects like a ‘fil rouge’, creating a seemingly complicated architecture that is however driven by a simple, yet at times unexpected, bold idea.

Poised to capitalize on the strengths of emergent systems, we continuously challenge and reformulate our own logic striving to forge an elegant and contemporary vision that transcends current aesthetics, infusing every project with the essence of change through culture, heritage, nature and inspiring philosophies.

Matteo Cainer is a practising architect, curator, and educator. Founder of Matteo Cainer Architects Ltd, and the Confluence Institute for Innovation and Creative Strategies in Architecture in France, he is also Director of Architecture Whispers.

After receiving his master’s degree from the University of Architecture in Venice, Italy, he worked and collaborated with a number of celebrated international practices including Peter Eisenman in New York, CoopHimmelb(l)au in Vienna and Arata Isozaki Associati in Milan. In 2004 he was Assistant Director for the Venice Architecture Biennale - METAMORPH, and in 2006 was Curator of the London Architecture Biennale - CHANGE. It was in London that he created/directed the Design Research Studio at Fletcher Priest Architects and in June 2010 opened his own office. In 2011 he moved to Paris where he was an Associate professor at the École Spéciale d’Architecture and it was there that he created and directed the 'Pavillon Spéciale' series. It was also in Paris that he conceived and hosted ‘Architecture Whispers’ and in 2013 co-founded and co-directed with Odile Decq the Confluence Institute for Innovation and Creative Strategies in Architecture in Lyon. In March 2018 he moved back to London and was nominated curator for the 7th Edition of the Dark Side Club for the 16th International Architecture Biennale in Venezia, and was a regular visiting critic at Westminster and the AA. In March of 2020 to respond to the pandemic, he launched MCA Online a free educational initiative to provide lectures, teaching, and support to home-bound students. Since then Matteo has continued to work on multiple projects that have received awards, curate architectural events, lectures and been a visiting critic in various universities. He is currently a visiting professor for the Interior and Spatial Design Studio IV at NABA in Milano, Italy

Request Complete CV 

MCA team: the following architects have been contributing to various office projects:

Chiara Antonelli, Nina Bobinac, Teresa Cancellari, Sara Carciotti, Caterina Cicognani, Maria Antonietta Cossu, Constantin Caropoulous, Iolanda Fortunato, Giulia Gatti, Marilena Georgantzi, Yeonsu Lee, Valentina Leodori, Vasiliki Mavrikaki, Giulia Mazza, Francesco Maria Messina, Yo Murata, Davide Pesenti, Daniella Persson, Avigael Perez, John Robbins, Helene Roncerel, Giuliana Sibilia, Barbara Stefán, Rana Taha, Claire Tournier, Tam Nhan Tran, Nike Vogrinec.


The following interns have contributed to various office projects:

Marie Aude, Elena Balossino, Francesca Biasco, Daana Bolot, Alessandro Bonadio, Aurelie Boulet, Maialen Apaolaza Clemente, Melania Ciabrini, Ameya Rohidas Deokar, Jasmine di Martino, Siriana Di Tommaso, Lea Etchegoyhem, Max Erlacher, Futura Falco, Caroline Finstad, Adrien Fournier, Ebba Fox, Alessia Girardi, Elisa Goi, Adriana Preciado Gomez, Marta Soriano Gomez, Bogdan Gravriliu, Rita Mantel Gaby, Yu Guo, Melanie Jaulin, Zlatina Kalaydzhieva, Giulia Merlo, Edouard Molinari, Lana Portalier, Caterina Pirola, Stefanos Roimpas, Nina Rotter, Sophie Razaire, Zohreh Shaghaghian, Im Soo-jin, Evonne Tam, Sheng Zhou, Wang Zhili.

To better nourish talent within the practice, our teams are in constant dialogue with our consultants. Architecture and the pleasure of experimentation and research is the goal of our practice, and the very nature of Architecture demands collaboration with multidisciplinary teams of experts ranging from engineers to landscape architects and designers.

Quantity Surveyor/ Cost consultants
MB&co (France)
Gleeds (United Kingdom)
Marco Checola (Italy)

Mechanical and Electrical
Espace Temps (France)
Waterman (United Kingdom)
Studio Intering (Italy) 

Structural Engineers
BET Batiserf (France)
Ove Arup (United Kingdom)
Studio Intering, Studio Strutture (Italy) 

Geometra (Italy)
Studio Tecnico Marcheselli (Tuscany)
Team Edilizia (Lombardy)

Lighting Designers
Fabertechnica (Italy)
Iolanda Fortunato (UK)

Climate Engineering
Transsolar 

Collaborations
Fletcherpriest Architects (London) 
3XN (Copenhagen)
LGSM_A (Rome)

Professional Memberships

RIBA Chartered Practice
Matteo Cainer Architecture - 20029030
RIBA 
Chartered Member of Royal Institute of British Architects - RIBA: 11936917
ARB 
Member of the Architects Registration Board - ARB: 070486E

*Matteo Cainer is also a licensed architect in Italy and recognized in France.

Various projects of Matteo Cainer Architecture have received nominations, won design awards and been finalists in international competitions. Furthermore, in 2010 the practice was selected at the London Architecture Festival as one of 25 young international emerging practices.

The work of the practice has been featured in various exhibitions with sketches, models and digital prints.  Furthermore, it was part of the London Architecture festival in the show 25 select 25  as a young international emerging practice.

I Biennale dello Stretto 2022 - Calabria, IT
Colle degli Agrumi- Citrus Hill, Catania Italy

Gingerbread City 2019, Somerset House - London, UK
Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum Park - Landscape and park project

III Architecture Pisa Biennale 2019 - Pisa, IT
Sant’Antonio Musicale, Trieste Italy
Birnbeck Island, Weston Super Mare, UK 

Royal Academy of Arts 2019 Summer Exhibition - London, UK
1/50 model of La Forêt Urbaine- Paris, France

Spazio Campo - Rome, IT
Digital Print - Brutal Beauty - Architecture is Everything 1968-2018

“DIAGRAMME(S)” Salon du Dessin - Paris, FR
Sketch of United Colors of Tehran - Teheran, Iran
Sketches Camellian Opera House - Busan, South Korea

“UN ARCHITECTE UN PROJET” ESA - Paris, FR
Boards and model of MOCAPE Museum - Shenzhen, China

25 select 25, Festival of Architecture - London, UK
Boards and model - MOCAPE, Mesh, Teheran, Three stone performing Arts Center