Paola Cattarin Director Dipl Arch, OdAR, ARB

Profile                                                                                              Paola joined Zaha Hadid Architects in 1999 and was made Director in 2019. With experience on a wide range of projects around the world, her interests spans across design, project management as well as being widely involved in the overall management of the office.

Prior to joining ZHA, Paola gained freelance experience, with various practices throughout Barcelona, Rome and London.

Education & Teaching                                                                    Paola initially studied with the Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB) in Spain (1994), going on to gain her Dipl.Arch degree from the University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’ in Italy (1996). Paola has also lectured extensively on architecture, urban design and the work of Zaha Hadid Architects, for academic and professional audiences throughout Europe and Asia.

Project overview                                                                             Paola has worked on a wide range of international projects and design contests and her expertise span across the field of urban development, infrastructure, architecture and interior design. Paola was project director for the new Salerno Maritime Terminal in Italy. This quayside development forges an innovative and intimate relationship between the city of Salerno and its waterfront, and provides a smooth transition between the land and the sea. She has also been involved as architectural project manager for the Napoli-Afragola High Speed Train Station in Italy, which is a major transportation interchange that serves as a new public ‘gateway’ to the city of Naples.

Paola also developed a number of interior retail projects for Stuart Weitzman, completing stores in Hong Kong, Milan, Rome and Beijing and she was responsible for a major private development including 6 residential towers and a shopping mall in New Taipei City. She is currently leading the interior design of a luxury boutique hotel in the Rome city core as well as leading a number of masterplan projects in China, including Hangzhou Seamless City and a masterplan in Beijing.