Principal Architect

Paolo Lettieri is an Italian architect based in Milan, founder and principal of UPA Italia by Paolo Lettieri Architects. He 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.

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His early career developed within multidisciplinary engineering practices and established international firms, including a formative period at Dante O. Benini & Partners Architects. In 2009, he founded UPA Italia in Milan, building a practice with operational offices in Milan, Abu Dhabi and Baghdad and a project portfolio spanning Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia. The Abu Dhabi operations are led by architect Aswan Zubaidi, CEO, co-founder and partner of the practice.

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Over twenty-five years of practice, he has directed the design and delivery of complex projects across healthcare, education, hospitality, residential, and cultural sectors — including the VGIK Cinema and Concert Hall in Moscow, the Al Qasim University Campus in Iraq (LEED Gold certified), the Abu Dhabi Ladies Club, and the Istisu Thermal Spa Resort in Azerbaijan. His work has been recognised with the IDA Design Awards, the Arabian Property 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), with an introduction by critic Luigi Prestinenza Puglisi.

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Alongside his architectural practice, Lettieri has maintained a sustained engagement with digital technologies applied to the built environment.

In 2018 he co-founded BrikBit, a blockchain-based PropTech platform for real estate transactions.

In 2023 he established 29 Milano, an industrial design brand producing architecture-inspired furniture systems with integrated NFC and blockchain authentication.

He teaches, lectures, and writes on architectural practice, hybridisation in urban design, and the intersection of digital innovation with the built environment.