Partners architects
UPA Italia by Paolo Lettieri Architects operates as a partnership between two principal architects with complementary geographic and professional backgrounds — Paolo Lettieri based in Milan, and Aswan Ibrahim Zubaidi based in Abu Dhabi. The practice combines Italian architectural culture with deep operational knowledge of the Middle Eastern construction and regulatory environment.
Principal Architect — Managing Partner, UPA Italia, Milan
Paolo Lettieri graduated in Architecture from the Politecnico di Milano in 2001, under Professor Marco Dezzi Bardeschi, and completed an Executive Programme in Real Estate at POLIMI Graduate School of Management in 2020. His early career included senior roles at international practices, among them Dante O. Benini & Partners Architects in Milan.
He founded UPA Italia in Milan in 2009. Over twenty-five years of practice, he has directed the design and delivery of complex projects across healthcare, education, hospitality, residential, and cultural sectors in Italy, the UAE, Iraq, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, and Jordan. His work has been recognised with the IDA Design Awards, the Architecture MasterPrize, and the LEAF Awards, and is documented in the 2024 monograph Architectures in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia (AltraLinea Edizioni).
Alongside his architectural practice, he co-founded BrikBit, a blockchain-based PropTech platform, and established 29 Milano, an industrial design brand integrating NFC and blockchain authentication into furniture systems.
Aswan Ibrahim Zubaidi
Director — UPA Abu Dhabi and Baghdad, Co-founder UPA Italia
Aswan Ibrahim Zubaidi holds a Master of Science in Architecture from the University of Baghdad, where he was born and began his professional career. He brings over forty years of practice across Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, including senior leadership roles at Hill International and WS Atkins in Dubai and Abu Dhabi — two of the largest international project management and engineering consultancies operating in the region.
Throughout his career he has served as Project Leader, Senior Project Manager, and Director of Architecture across large-scale multidisciplinary developments in the Gulf. He founded UPA Consultancy LLC in Abu Dhabi and Iraq, and co-founded UPA Italia in Milan in 2009. He leads the practice's operations in the UAE and Iraq from the Abu Dhabi office.