Openfabric is a landscape architecture and urbanism practice based in Rotterdam and Milan founded in 2011 by Francesco Garofalo. Openfabric is composed of an international team of diverse professionals, active locally and globally, with projects extending to more than twenty countries on five different continents. Our clients span from public administrations (Amsterdam, Milan, Moscow, Paris, Shanghai) to private clients and organisations (WWF, FAO, Strelka KB, Triennale di Milano).

Our research focuses on the implications of the contemporary planetary urbanisation condition at the global scale generating spaces, installations, and cartographies from a critical standpoint. Our projects address spontaneity rather than imposing rigid design solutions, favouring under-programmed spaces and flexible uses. We value everything which is apparently unnoticed, elevating the city as the stage of everyday life.

Our work has been awarded and widely exhibited, from Venice Architecture Biennale, IABR Rotterdam, Triennale di Milano, AIA New York, Matadero Madrid and COAC Barcelona. We are active in academia, holding teaching positions in various institutions such as Politecnico di Milano, London Metropolitan University, Domus Academy, RAoB Rotterdam and Amsterdam Academy of Architecture AHK.

We lecture internationally on a continuous basis, in several cultural institutions and universities, including Cornell AAP (New York), MIT (Cambridge MA), Cornell University (Ithaca, NY), Hong Kong University, IAAC (Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia), London Metropolitan University, Strelka KB (Moscow), Triennale di Milano, KU Leuven (Belgium), TU München and Pollenzo University of Gastronomic Sciences.

Published on January 30, 2023