eUROPE 2025 SPEAKER

Paola Cattarin, Director, Zaha Hadid Architects

Bio:

Paola has been involved in numerous high-profile international projects and design competitions, showcasing her expertise across architectural typologies, with an emphasis on hospitality. Other strengths lie in urban development, infrastructure, and interior design. She has led multidisciplinary teams in addressing complex design briefs within tight timelines, consistently delivering innovative and impactful solutions. Currently Paola is leading the large-scale masterplan ‘Discovery City’ in Johor, Malasyia, which includes the architectural design of a vast exhibition space. Her leadership skills encompass project oversight, team management, and strategic resource allocation, ensuring seamless project execution from concept to completion. Paola’s diverse experience stretches across all architectural typologies, from hospitality to civic, retail and infrastructure. She recently led the interior design team responsible for the fit-out and regeneration of the luxury boutique ROMEO Hotel, Roma. Paola’s knowledge of the sector was instrumental in achieving the project’s ambitious vision, preserving the historical character of the 1600s building while transforming its interiors into a luxurious, contemporary space. She is also co leading the Hangzhou Seamless City development, a large-scale waterfront project under construction that includes regenerating key infrastructure and designing residential, commercial, retail, and amenity spaces. Working in the infrastructure sector, Paola served as project director for the Salerno Maritime Terminal in Italy, a quayside development that seamlessly bridges land and sea, and as project manager for the Napoli-Afragola High-Speed Train Station, a vital transportation hub and gateway to Naples. Her portfolio also includes designing interior retail spaces for Stuart Weitzman, with stores completed in Hong Kong, Milan, Rome, and Beijing, and leading a major private development in New Taipei City, featuring six residential towers and a shopping mall. Through her innovative approach and leadership, Paola continues to deliver projects that balance aesthetic ambition with functional excellence.
Paola’s LinkedIn:
Paola has been involved in numerous high-profile international projects and design competitions, showcasing her expertise across architectural typologies, with an emphasis on hospitality. Other strengths lie in urban development, infrastructure, and interior design. She has led multidisciplinary teams in addressing complex design briefs within tight timelines, consistently delivering innovative and impactful solutions. Currently Paola is leading the large-scale masterplan ‘Discovery City’ in Johor, Malasyia, which includes the architectural design of a vast exhibition space. Her leadership skills encompass project oversight, team management, and strategic resource allocation, ensuring seamless project execution from concept to completion. Paola’s diverse experience stretches across all architectural typologies, from hospitality to civic, retail and infrastructure. She recently led the interior design team responsible for the fit-out and regeneration of the luxury boutique ROMEO Hotel, Roma. Paola’s knowledge of the sector was instrumental in achieving the project’s ambitious vision, preserving the historical character of the 1600s building while transforming its interiors into a luxurious, contemporary space. She is also co leading the Hangzhou Seamless City development, a large-scale waterfront project under construction that includes regenerating key infrastructure and designing residential, commercial, retail, and amenity spaces. Working in the infrastructure sector, Paola served as project director for the Salerno Maritime Terminal in Italy, a quayside development that seamlessly bridges land and sea, and as project manager for the Napoli-Afragola High-Speed Train Station, a vital transportation hub and gateway to Naples. Her portfolio also includes designing interior retail spaces for Stuart Weitzman, with stores completed in Hong Kong, Milan, Rome, and Beijing, and leading a major private development in New Taipei City, featuring six residential towers and a shopping mall. Through her innovative approach and leadership, Paola continues to deliver projects that balance aesthetic ambition with functional excellence.

Bio:

Zaha Hadid Architects’s Website and LinkedIn:
Zaha Hadid Architects works across all scales and sectors, creating transformative cultural, corporate, residential, and mixed-use spaces that respond fluidly to their surroundings. Founded by Zaha Hadid, recipient of the 2004 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the practice is internationally renowned for its groundbreaking work spanning built projects, academic research, and theoretical exploration. Each design reflects over three decades of innovation at the intersection of architecture, urbanism, and design. In collaboration with senior partner Patrik Schumacher, the practice continues to explore the interface between architecture, landscape, and geology. By integrating natural topography with advanced digital technologies and human-made systems, Zaha Hadid Architects creates unexpected, dynamic forms that push the boundaries of contemporary design.
About Zaha Hadid Architects:

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