nationality: Italian

Francesco Gatti graduated with honors degree in ROMA TRE university. In 2002 he established the 3GATTI.COM ARCHITECTURE STUDIO. In 2004 he opened a new branch of the office in Shanghai where he completed many projects and won many competition and awards as: the “Buchanan Underground Station” (Glasgow-Scotland), the “Tra la murgia e il mare" urban development (Andria-Italy), the "500M³ design " GBD art residential district (Beijing-China) and the “06 Modern Decoration interior design media price” (Shenzen-China). His work was published in many international reviews.

Gatti participated as jury in Italian and Chinese architecture competitions and taught in ROMA TRE University (Italy) and in TongJi University (China) where he also participated as master of the Archiprix International.
 

international awards

500M³ design, GBD art district phase 1 architecture competition, phase1 silver price, entered in the construction phase, Beijing-China, 2007
06 Modern Decoration interior design media price, annual architecture & design award, Shenzen-China.2006
European 8, 'rechtDoor, Dordrecht-Stadshellingen-Netherlands2005
Buchanan Street Underground Station, Classified first, Glasgow-Scotland,2004
Tra la murgia e il mare, Classified first, Andria-Italy ,2003
Telecommunication Tower, Designs displayed, Sogliano al Rubicone-Italy,2003
Nam June Paik Museum, Design selected, Kionggi-Korea,2004
Monument for 1997 - Hong Kong, Design published, Hong Kong,1007
Stuttgarter Pavilion, designs displayed in Weisenhof Gallery in Stuttgart and at Enzimi in Rome, Stuttgart-Germany.1998
New IUAV site for refrigeration warehouses at S.Basilio, in collaboration with Arch. M. Maturi, Venice-Italy.1996

key publications

1000 X EUROPEAN ARCHITECTURE, Verlagshaus Braun book (2007) Germany "Telecommunication Observation Tower"
25ans, magazine (February 2007) China "Forget Rules"
Modern decoration, magazine n.109 (october 2006) China "Design according to our life philosophy "
Space, magazine n.69 (march 2006) China "ShenYang Shopping Mall"
Brands and Designers Awards 2005 Florilegium, book (2006) china "Shenyang shopping mall"
News Business Daily, newspaper (15 august 2006) china "Italian design set foot in design industry in Shanghail"
Vivishanghai.com, online magazine (2006) china "Visti da Vicino - Paesaggi Urbani"
A trip to Italy, Galla Placida book (2006) china "3GATTI" 
L'ARCA, magazine n.203 (May 2005) Italy "Telecomunicazioni a misura di paesaggio"
NHV, magazine (August 2005) China "Francesco Gatti's view of architecture"
METROPOLIS, magazine (September 2005) China "Orientation - Francesco Gatti"
El Mercurio, newspaper (2005) Chile "Telecommunication Tower"
Net.it,  book, G. Pino Scaglione (2004) Italy "arch'it - Telecommunication Tower"
arch'it, online magazine (2004) Italy "Telecommunications-Observation Tower at Sogliano al Rubicone"
INTIMACY, book (2004) Italy "breathing design".
arch'it, online magazine (2004) Italy "Nam June Paik Museum - Korea"
area, magazine (Nov-Dec 2003) Italy "INTIMACY deep inside exhibit"
architecture.it, online magazine (2002) Italy "media-center"
Glasgow Daily Times, newspaper (25 September 1997) Great Britain "The new Buchanan street underground station"
Laboratorio e progetto 95-96, dedalo edition (1996) Italy "Rome new gate"
foglio, review (autumn 1993) Italy "residential complex"
metropoli, magazine (December 1993) Italy "designing Rome"

3GATTI Architecture Studio is an international architectural firm that devotes itself to innovation and integration of environment, human beings and buildings. It offers design, consultancy, and management services of urban and architectural projects ranging from commercial, office, residential and mixed-use development projects, renovation of historical buildings, interior decoration projects, and infrastructure construction projects. From master planning, site evaluation and feasibility study, to the conceptual design, design development and construction drawing, and to the project management and site supervision. In addition to architectural expertise, the firm also expands its design onto industrial design, lighting design and furniture design.  

Under the experience acquired over 10 years of working on a wide variety of architectural projects in Italy and Europe, architect Francesco Gatti and his 2 partners established 3GATTI ARCHITECTURE STUDIO in 2002. With the strong ambition to realize his architectural thoughts, he devotes himself to oversea projects, larger and more challenging projects in east Asia, especially in China. The firm's initial commissions include restoration work, designing public cultural centers in Italy and work with the Vatican to develop the Lateran University (in this connection the firm was awarded several international awards for innovation in interactive mechanical architecture).  

In 2004, 3GATTI ARCHITECTURE STUDIO established an office in Shanghai to work on several urban, architectural and interior design projects.  The most important architectural projects are these, the Plaza de Shenyang Redstar furniture & decoration (two shopping malls and five residential towers), in Xitiexi district, Shenyang;  the Plaza de Zhengzhou Redstar furniture & decoration, (two shopping malls and five residential towers), in ZhengDong New District; "500M³ design " GBD art district phase 1 architecture competition, phase1 silver price, Beijing-China. The key interior projects include Italia Servizi Shanghai office at IN FACTORY (the red object project), "TUUN" DanYin Wellness Juice Bar, "THE CUT" - interactive disco experience "disco club, "ZeBar" bar, Shanghai; the interior design for a model villa (for a compound of 25 villas) at Cloundland; other interiors in Raffles city and the Jia Hua centre in Shanghai.

Over the past year the 3GATTI ARCHITECTURE STUDIO Team in Shanghai has developed a wealth of experience and a solid team. It has won the trust of its clients and set up long-term relationship with some international renown companies.  Moreover, it enriches its experience and sets up its reputation with successful cooperation with the local government authorities to solve the physical architectural problems involved in  the historical restoration and development in China.

3GATTI ARCHITECTURE STUDIO is focusing on providing clients throughout Asia with innovative and functional design solutions. With a multi-national team of architects and designers, it commits itself to offering its clients the highest level of professional design service to ensure that their needs and visions are transformed into reality.
 

What is your name? Do you have a Chinese name?
My name is Francesco Gatti. My Chinese name is Gai Tian Ke. It means something like "a tree that grows into the sky".

What is your native language?
Italian

Do you speak Mandarin?
No.

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Roma, Italy.

When did you know you wanted to work in architecture?
Not really architecture but arts since I was very little. When I was a kid I was a little bit autistic. So I was living inside my own world and I developed big fantasies about new stuff and buildings and fantasy construction. I was doing a lot of constructions and designs with new ideas about funny mechanical things and childlike building.

What schools have you attended?
I went to architecture school in Rome and I studied for one year in Scotland.

What ideas from your architecture education are most important to you?
The thinking of my teachers at school was quite opposite to my thinking. They were all very good but older so they have different culture and different ideas. So I don't see the connection so clearly between the school and what I think now about architecture.

Which architects or architectural experiences have had the most influence on you and your work?
Toyo Ito, the Japanese architect. I think his work influenced me a lot.

What brought you to Shanghai?
The real reason, I don't know if it is very professional, was because I broke up with my girlfriend. I decided to go very far away and then I started to think about where was a good place to practice architecture and I think that I made the right choice because here there are so many opportunities.

What did you know about Shanghai’s architecture before you came here?
My idea was not very correspondent with the reality. In Italy at that period everybody was talking about China but even now the Italian people have an imagination about China that is not really true. Probably it is more related to the traditional image of China and the traditional architecture and culture. A lot of my friends from Italy come here to visit and are completely surprised by what they see. Tey expect people to look traditional but they are completely different – not like European people but not what they expect. I have traveled a lot throughtout my life to many cities and each city has small Chinatown so I had the idea that I was going to a big Chinatown but actually it is not like that.

"Shanghai architects in dialogue", Design Republic Pov, 2007