Open Building Research

What Open Building Research does

Open Building Research (OBR) is an Italian architectural firm founded in 2000 by Paolo Brescia and Tommaso Principi, both alumni of Renzo Piano Building Workshop, and headquartered in Milan at Via Ciovasso 4. The firm operates as a single integrated design practice with a team of approximately 40 architects and a third partner, Andrea Casetto, structuring an organization that delivers architectural and urban design across cultural, healthcare, masterplanning, office, residential, reuse, waterfront, and sport project categories. OBR's intellectual foundation is its 'relational architecture' methodology and 'building on the built' regeneration approach, prioritizing environmental sustainability, community-centered design, and adaptive reuse over object-based iconic statements.

The firm's commercial model is professional services revenue earned through design competition wins and direct commissions from public-sector and private enterprise clients. Project pipeline is globally distributed across Italy, South Korea, India, Ghana, and the United States, with recent landmark engagements including Casa BFF Milan (BFF Banking Group headquarters, LEED Platinum, WELL Gold, completed 2025), Waterfront di Levante Genoa (a multi-phase urban regeneration with Renzo Piano Building Workshop and the Municipality of Genoa), Bassi Business Park Milan (Generali Real Estate regeneration, LEED Gold target), Global Startup Hub Busan (won May 2025), Casa Vela Genoa (Italian Sailing Federation), and the Enzo Ferrari Educational Pavilion for UNIMORE. Distribution and visibility are maintained through participation in Venice Biennale of Architecture, RIBA London, Triennale Milano, international academic lectures, and a portfolio of industry awards including MIPIM, LEAF, WAN, RIBA, and Architizer recognition.

OBR is privately held by its founding partners with no disclosed funding rounds, subsidiaries, or parent company, indicating it is bootstrapped from project revenue. The firm holds ISO 9001 quality management certification and has codified sustainability delivery through LEED and WELL outcomes on signature projects. Recurring collaboration partners include Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Arup, Buro Happold, Openfabric, Jacobs Italia, and Milan Ingegneria, forming project-consortium teams that combine design vision with engineering and landscape expertise.

Name

Open Building Research

Legal name

Open Building Research S.r.l.

Website

https://obr.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Open Building Research is a Milan-based architectural firm founded in 2000 by Paolo Brescia and Tommaso Principi, with a team of ~40 architects delivering cultural, residential, healthcare, office, and large-scale urban regeneration projects across Europe, Asia, and beyond, acquired primarily through design competition wins.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Design Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Architectural Services (541310), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAHAKAA

Architectural Design Services

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Architecture, Design & Planning Services

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Urban masterplanning
• Building regeneration
• Waterfront development
• Sustainable architecture

Headquarters

HQ city

Milan

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Architectural Design Services: OBR generates revenue through commissions for architectural design services, including competition prizes (which serve as entry points for projects), conceptual design, detailed design, and artistic direction for residential, commercial, cultural, healthcare, waterfront, and urban planning projects. Revenue is project-based, typically won through design competitions or direct commissions.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Open Building Research is an architectural and urban design firm that delivers building design, urban regeneration, and masterplanning services across residential, commercial, cultural, healthcare, office, waterfront, and sport facility typologies. Projects are acquired primarily through international and national design competitions and direct commissions, with work executed by a Milan-based multidisciplinary team of approximately 40 architects. Service scope spans conceptual design, detailed design, and artistic direction, often in collaboration with engineering partners such as Arup, Buro Happold, Milan Ingegneria, and Jacobs.

Product overview

Open Building Research (OBR) is an architectural firm offering a comprehensive portfolio of architectural and urban planning services. Founded in 2000 by Paolo Brescia and Tommaso Principi, the firm operates as a single integrated design practice rather than a platform with modular products. OBR's services span multiple categories including cultural projects, healthcare architecture, masterplanning, office buildings, residential architecture, building regeneration/reuse, waterfront design, and sport facilities. The firm is headquartered in Milan with a team of approximately 40 architects and has completed projects across Italy, South Korea, India, Ghana, China, and other international locations. Notable projects include Casa BFF Milan, Waterfront di Levante Genoa, Milanofiori Residential Complex, and various museum and healthcare facilities. OBR does not offer software products or technology platforms; all offerings are professional architectural services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architectural Design Services Comprehensive architectural design services covering urban planning, building design, regeneration, and master planning for residential, commercial, cultural, healthcare, office, and waterfront developments worldwide. Delivered by a multidisciplinary team of approximately 40 architects based in Milan.

Quantifiable outcome

• Casa BFF produces 360 MWh/year through 2,300 sqm photovoltaic panels
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Renzo Piano, as masterplan donor, developed the 'Blueprint' vision for Genoa Waterfront. OBR entered the 2016 Blueprint Competition with RPBW collaborating. In 2021, Renzo Piano invited OBR to design the residential lot. This is a highly strategic collaboration on one of Europe's largest waterfront regeneration projects.
• ArupmajorTechnology or IntegrationArup is part of OBR's competition team for Waterfront di Levante Genoa (2016) and Global Startup Hub Busan (2025). Provides engineering and technical expertise for complex projects.
• Jacobs ItaliamajorTechnology or IntegrationJacobs Italia is part of the project team for Bassi Business Park Milan, working alongside OBR and Openfabric on the complex regeneration project.
• OpenfabricmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOpenfabric serves as a collaboration partner on multiple projects including Bassi Business Park and Global Startup Hub Busan, contributing landscape and urban design expertise.
• Buro HappoldmajorTechnology or IntegrationBuro Happold provides engineering expertise on projects like Waterfront di Levante Genoa and Lehariya Jaipur, contributing to sustainable and innovative design solutions.
• CeasmajorTechnology or IntegrationCeas is part of the project team for Casa BFF Milan, providing engineering and design services for the LEED Platinum and WELL Gold certified headquarters.
• Milan IngegneriamajorTechnology or IntegrationMilan Ingegneria collaborates on multiple OBR projects including Terrazza Triennale Milan and Casa Vela Genoa, providing structural and engineering expertise.
• GAD (Gianluca di Ioia)majorTechnology or IntegrationGAD lighting design studio collaborates on Casa BFF and Terrazza Triennale projects, providing specialized lighting design expertise.
• Bhujon Kang ArchitectsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal Korean architecture firm collaborating with OBR on the Global Startup Hub Busan competition, providing regional expertise for the South Korean project.
• NeostudiomajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNeostudio serves as concept and detailed design manager for Casa Vela Genoa, collaborating closely with OBR on this prominent waterfront project for the Italian Sailing Federation.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• MAD Architects: Beijing-based international architecture practice founded by Ma Yansong, operating in cultural and high-profile urban commissions globally. Comparable to OBR on design-competition-led acquisition, focus on signature cultural and waterfront projects, and active presence in Asian and Middle Eastern markets.
• Mario Cucinella Architects (MC A): Italian architecture firm with global offices and a strong focus on sustainable, regenerative design and healthcare architecture. Closely comparable to OBR by size, sustainability-led positioning, competition-led project acquisition, and engagement with EU-funded and institutional clients.
• Snøhetta: Norwegian-headquartered international architecture and design practice known for sustainability-driven cultural, public, and waterfront projects (e.g., Norwegian National Opera, Library of Alexandria). Comparable to OBR on philosophy (contextual, regenerative), competition-led acquisition, and public/cultural client mix, though at larger scale.
• Renzo Piano Building Workshop: Founded by Renzo Piano in Genoa, RPBW is the architectural firm where OBR's founders Paolo Brescia and Tommaso Principi trained. RPBW operates in the same design-competition-led, sustainability-oriented, mixed-use regeneration space as OBR and shares its Ligurian heritage; their formal partnership on Genoa Waterfront di Levante makes them both collaborator and reference peer.
• Stefano Boeri Architetti: Milan-based Italian architecture firm with strong international profile and competition-led practice including the Bosco Verticale and ongoing masterplans. Operates in the same Italian architecture ecosystem, competes for similar cultural, residential, and urban-regeneration commissions, and shares the design-competition GTM model with OBR.
• Kengo Kuma & Associates: Tokyo-based practice of comparable size and international reach, known for cultural, hospitality, and waterfront architecture with a strong sustainability and material-craft emphasis. Overlaps with OBR in cultural-institution commissions and Asian competition wins, and pursues a similar scale of built work.
• Piuarch: Milan-headquartered Italian architecture firm working in commercial, corporate, and urban regeneration across Italy and internationally. Similar scale and design-led practice with comparable enterprise clients in banking and real estate, overlapping directly with OBR's Casa BFF and Bassi Business Park territory.
• Cino Zucchi Architetti: Founded and led by Cino Zucchi out of Milan, CZA is a comparable-size Italian architecture practice operating in residential, masterplan, and commercial sectors. CZA's mixed-use regeneration work (including Milanofiori-area projects) directly competes with OBR for similar Milan corporate and developer commissions.

Broad incumbents

• Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG): Larger Scandinavian-headquartered practice with global reach and competition-led acquisition model, active in cultural, residential, and waterfront typologies like OBR. Functions as a broader incumbent in the same architectural-design space; much larger scale but overlaps on client segments (corporates, municipalities) and design philosophy (sustainability, contextual).
• Studio Gang: Chicago-headquartered international practice with strong sustainability and ecology-driven positioning, working in cultural, civic, and waterfront typologies. Comparable to OBR on regenerative/sustainability-led methodology and competition-led commissions, but at materially larger scale and with broader geographic footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/obr-open-building-research
• Instagraminstagram.com/obr.eu

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Open Building Research