Partner, Architect Gian Luigi Melis
CEO, Principal Graduated in architecture in Florence (1995), Gian Luigi Melis, founder of Heliopolis 21, has received several awards and prizes like the international Prizes “Dedalo Minosse” for the ecologic stations, and, more recently, the first prizes for the Teatro della Misericordia in Vinci, the Riva del Garda Exhibition Fair with Coop Himmelblau, the Montelupo Bridge, Fucecchio town refurbishment and the Polo della Memoria SR 1938 in Pisa together with Roger Diener.
Partner, Architect Alessandro Melis
Design Director, Member of the Board Founder of H21, Alessandro Melis has received a Master and a Ph.D. in Architecture and Urban Design from the University of Florence. His specialist teaching, supervisory and research interests are in the fields of climate sensitive design, sustainable strategies for urban mutations, environmental policies, radical theories and criticism, resilience, and sustainable conservation. He is Professor of Architecture Innovation at the Portsmouth School of Architecture, head of the technology area and director of the Postgraduate engagement (School of Architecture and Planning) at the University of Auckland, Head of the Postgraduate Master PPS Program_Urban Strategies at the University of Applied Arts Vienna (die Angewandte), Honorary Fellow at the Edinburgh School of Architecture (ESALA) and Visiting Professor at the Anhalt University (Dessau). He has been honorary fellow at the Edinburgh School of Architecture and a keynote speaker at the China Academy of Art, at the MoMA New York and at the Venice Biennale. He has written books and articles published in Europe, New Zealand and USA. His internationally published writings include researches on climate radicalism and sustainability, design criticism, new utopias and contemporary visionarism. He is the Curator of the Italian Pavilion – Venice Architecture Biennale 2021.
Partner, Architect Nico Panizzi
Project and Design Director, partner since 2007 and Member of the Board. Nico Panizzi has received a master degree in Architecture (Florence, 2001) and he is author of several researches and publications on urban design. Under his coordination, Heliopolis 21 projects have been internationally awarded and exhibited including the X (Crotone Waterfront project) and XIII (GT project) Biennale di Venezia.
As Heliopolis 21 Project and Design Director he has contributed to the winning of several competition including the competition for Urban Design in Prato, the Misericordia Theater in Vinci, the new Fair Hall and Palasport in Riva del Garda, the Polo della Memoria SR 1938, the new Montanelli square in Fucecchio, the new bridge of Montelupo, the new Stella Maris Hospital in Pisa, the Benozzo Gozzoli Tabernacle in Peccioli, the new entrance to the library of Palazzo della Gherardesca of the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa and the New “Peccioli Link” in Peccioli.
Associate, Architect Ilaria Fruzzetti
She graduated in Architecture at the University of Florence in protection and recovery of the historical architecture . Since 2002 she has been H21’s collaborator, becoming associate in 2007. Within the studio, she manages and coordinates all activities of office management; she is responsible for restoration projects, renovation and restoration, works management and safety management.
Associate, P.Ind. Filippo Mariani
He obtained the Diploma of Industrial Construction at the ITIS school in Pisa. Since 2001 he has been H21’s collaborator, becoming associate in 2007. He is the Site manager, responsible for all accounting elements related to the construction process and he carries out construction supervision and safety coordinator.
Associate, Architect Laura Luperi (until 2022)
She received her Master Degree, summa cum laude, in Architecture from the University of Florence and specialized in Restoration and Preservation of Architectural Heritage. She also attended several high education courses, Exhibition Design and Museography from Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa among the others. She joined Heliopolis 21 in 2007, becoming associate from 2017 to 2022.