About - MMArchitectura - Mattia Malavenda Architect
ABOUT
MMArchitectura (MMA) was established in 2010 by Mattia Malavenda with office in Turin, Italy.
The practice has since then expanded, now establishing its head-office in Dubai (UAE) and also operating from Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).
MMA is led by 3 partners, including the founder, Architect Mattia Malavenda RIBA, LEED AP BD+C, PMP.
The practice at its full capacity employs about 40 architects, engineers and support staff including 3D visualization artists, model makers, researchers and administrative staff.
The MMA teams have a wide experience of working in multi-disciplinary environment, on building projects across the globe and involved in all the project stages, from start to finish.
To assure the quality of the final result, MMA usually provide full architectural design services and also project management services during the construction phase.
MMA design specializations span beyond architectural services and also include territorial planning and urban design services, landscape design services and design for sustainability services.
In 10 years, MMA has successfully undertaken and completed over 20 projects around the world.
Currently, among the main projects in construction progress are: the Assalam Museum in Medina and the W Hotel by Marriott in Jeddah.
The MMA method is a collective way of thinking and working that has been consolidated over 10 years.
A focus on people, on harmony, on environment, on attention to detail, on creativity, on light.
It is a code of ethics that manifests itself aesthetically in every building MMA designs.
The emphasis at MMA is on “design to build:” to ensure, from the start, that every detail works. For each project, hundreds of BIM, 3D and physical models are made for testing proposals. This “piano piano,” or softly softly, approach, means clients can be confident that when they are shown renderings, they will represent the final building right through to the tiniest finish.
MMA constantly seeks to improve materials, find new ways of sculpting light and temperature, and minimize environmental impact.
Every project is approached as a fresh, blank slate, with its own exciting challenges and individual needs.
Not driven by ephemeral trends, but by a quest for quality, each MMA project has its own strong identity.
The aim is to design buildings that continue to get better with time.
The MMA thinking goes that working collaboratively means working better: more ideas, more cultural and generational diversity, more experience, knowledge and creativity, and more eyes to ensure every detail of a project is realized exactly as planned.
A people-centric philosophy is at the heart of the design process. Public spaces are integral to MMA projects. The practice’s belief is that better buildings make for a better world. A successful building is one that improves daily life for the people who live and work around it.
The practice’s preoccupation with transparency, beauty and lightness extends to a striving for “weightlessness.”
The MMA buildings, that could otherwise block urban space, are “lifted" so they appear to float and defy gravity. This technique allows the ground level to remain part of the public realm, an open space where people, light and air continue to circulate.
A sense of lightness, a gentle touch, could also be used to describe MMA's style of working. Listening is primordial. First, hearing the client’s needs and wishes, but also being aware of the Genius Loci: the essence and stories of the site itself. MMA buildings are designed and built with awareness of their surroundings. In dense urban areas, dialogue is sought with existing buildings. In other contexts, local building traditions and heritage materials are used. Buildings are designed intelligently and responsibly. Piazzas, gardens, living roofs and walls are omnipresent. Cutting-edge technology, including photovoltaic panels and cells, LEED buildings, means many MMA projects.