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We proudly operate as a collective: we pool our varied experiences together to tackle spatial injustice through design and urban activism.
Zafir is an Architectural Designer and Educator, with a vested interest in empowering young and marginalised voices. He worked for leading architectural studios Hawkins/Brown and dRMM, before transitioning to the charity Open City.
In academia, Zafir lectures ethics at Ravensbourne, and manages an event programme at the London School of Architecture. He also sits on the RIBA Council and is an expert reference for the ARB.
Paul is an urban and social activist trained in Architecture and Urban Design in the UK and Italy. He is interested in cities and how grass-root movements shape the built environment. In particular, he works to understand how an organic and bottom-up order can emerge from the inherent disorder of urban life.
In this spirit, Paul has experience researching, working and collaborating with organisations and social movements in Peru and Ecuador, accompanying processes of urban development. He also has extensive experience working for the Manchester based architectural practice Bowker Sadler.
Vicky is an Architectural Designer with multidisciplinary experience in the field of design and a contextual approach towards architecture. Having graduated in Architecture in the UK, she has worked across architecture, interiors and graphic design at renowned studios in Athens and Milan.
Given the built environment’s impact on our collective lives, Vicky believes that making good design accessible to all can tackle inequalities, reinforce a community’s identity and contribute towards a healthier society. In a world of diminishing resources, she is a strong advocate for using assets from the past, such as vernacular techniques and adaptive reuse, to solve our present and future problems.
Emanuel is an Architect (Ecuador) and Urban Designer, actively pursuing the crossover between craftsmanship and contemporary technology. His interests lie in the coordination and complexity of large-scale projects.
Through his thesis, he is currently developing an urban generative tool at the Politecnico di Milano. Working globally for various practices, he recently completed an internship at the acclaimed Herzog & de Meuron.
Jose is an Architectural Designer, passionate about environmental projects that are firmly rooted in its context. He is particularly interested in generating designs by integrating landscape, habitats and ecosystems directly into the site.
Jose seeks to design by improving natural systems – through natural materials and regenerative solutions to water and energy uses. Jose wants to design buildings that improve our natural systems by using sustainably sourced natural materials and by creating a culture of water and energy use that doesn’t pollute but regenerates our surroundings. Previously working at Agile Homes in Bristol-UK, a company that delivers bio-based, prefabricated homes for people in housing need.
Claudia is a Designer and Urban Planner, with a particular interest in social sustainability, user needs and the character of places. Having studied architecture and urban design at Politecnico di Milano, she collaborated with an NGO to complete her thesis on informal settlements in Lima.
Claudia has also worked in Amsterdam and Milan, specialising in the refurbishment of valuable and historically-sensitive buildings
Camila is an Architectural Designer and Photographer, curious about the human experience and the historic and social layers weaving cities and architecture form at different scales. She graduated in Manchester School of Architecture and has gained experience working for Artform Architects at a range of projects with a focus on architecture’s sensibility to human scale.
Striving to understand the intricate responses to unique geographic conditions, existing structures, collective memory and climate threats, she moved to Venice to continue her studies. During her Master’s Thesis, she is studying the complexity of heritage preservation, spatial justice and the power of community-led design.
Catalina is a Chilean architect and landscape designer with a special interest in resilient and nature-based solutions to create design alternatives for a sustainable future. She has worked as an architect in Chile and as landscape designer in the Netherlands.
Currently, Catalina is a PhD researcher in the Riverhood project at Wageningen University of Research, where she is focusing on territorial design and counter-design in riverine landscapes. Her research aims to investigate how river management through landscape design and territorial planning has generated socio-material transformations that directly affect river communities and their livelihoods, generating local confrontations with imposed designs. Within this framework, she is particularly interested in investigating how these confrontations are supported through instruments of counter-designs and counter-cartographies.
Nevena is an Architectural Designer with a strong belief in the value of well-crafted and thoughtfully made things. For her, architecture is a means to create a better world, which drives her to explore spatial justice, social responsibility, inclusivity, urban ecology and sustainability in urban planning and design. She recognizes that building built or open places involves long and complex processes.
Nevena is committed to researching renewable resources, grounding projects with a strong sense of place, and providing the framework for flexibility and knowledge exchange. With five years of experience working in an office focused on public and infrastructural buildings, Nevena believes that change in the architectural field is essential across various scales and complexities.
MEDLIFE is an 501(c)(3) non-profit organisation that collaborates with underserved communities in Latin America and Africa. With the goal of significantly improving health, education and community infrastructure, their mission is to promote an environment where every individual has the potential to thrive.
Over the last 5 years, we have worked closely on a number of projects. This includes setting up a local MEDLIFE chapter in Manchester, fundraising for their international development, and designing a prototype housing system for low-income families.
Built By Us is an award-winning UK organisation, committed to platforming emerging people in the built environment. As part of their annual SHAPE Programme, beneficiaries partake in a year-long series of professional workshops and are assigned a like-minded mentor.
Defrente Studio is excited to be part of their 2024 cohort, having already received invaluable support and guidance. We eagerly anticipate the rest of the programme, and hope to establish a long-standing relationship.
ACAN! is an international network of built environment students, professionals and academics, working to tackle the twin crises of climate and ecological breakdown. Their mission is decarbonise now, ecological regeneration and cultural transformation.
ACAN! is generously funding vital material research, enabling us to pioneer a safe, sustainable and open-access construction system
