Design-with-ClimateSpace, Ecology, Experience
OFICINAA is an award-winning practice specialized in design for climatic adaptation. Working at the intersection of landscape architecture and urban design, the projects range from small to large-scale interventions. The work prioritizes aesthetic experience, thermal safety, biodiversity enhancement, and innovative approaches—promoting local resources and community well-being. Operating for over 10 years, the practice merges the rigor of academic research, with innovation, construction know-how and coordination with the various stakeholders. This includes a closer articulation with the local authorities in response to the growing demands for climatic adaptation measures and nature-based design. Silvia Benedito and Alexander Häusler were the founding partners of OFICINAA. In 2023 the local firmed based in Ingolstadt, Germany, is continued as STUDIO HÆUSLER by Alexander Häusler. OFICINAA is solely operated by Silvia Benedito as an individual enterprise, based in Cambridge and Lisbon
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Dr. Silvia Benedito
Silvia Benedito is a landscape architect, architect, and urban designer with extensive experience developing private and public projects across scales. She has been teaching in the Department of Landscape Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) for nearly 15 years advancing curriculum and design strategies for climate adaptation in urban and rural territories. A registered practitioner in Portugal and Germany, Benedito was a Senior Associate at James Corner Field Operationsin New York, contributing to landmark projects such as the High Line Park. She is also the author of the award-winning book Atmosphere Anatomies: On Design, Weather, and Sensation (Lars Müller, 2022), featuring photography by Iwan Baan.
More recently, she co-founded OficinaAcademy a design-based nonprofit 501(c) dedicated to rural entrepreneurship, promoting projects in environmental education and co-creation initiatives.
Vita
2024 PhD University of Coimbra/ ETH Zürich
2024 Co-Founder OficinaAcademy NGO
2022 Book Award Architectural Innovation and Sustainability, Lisbon Portugal
2018 Finalist MoMA Young Architect Program, NYC USA
2005-2010 Senior Associate at James Corner Field Operations, NYC USA
2008 Fernando Távora Prize, Oporto Portugal
2004 Master Architecture and Urban Design, Graduate School of Design, Harvard GSD
2000 Architecture Degree, University of Coimbra, Portugal
2011-2023 Assistant/Associate Professor/ Design Critic at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD), Cambridge USA
2019 Guest Professor at the TU München, Germany
2020 Guest Professor at the TU Graz, Austria
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Recognition
2025 Guest Contributor, Biennial of Architecture and Landscape of Île-de-France "+4°C entre toi et moi,” Versailles (F)
2025 Guest Contributor, International Architecture Exhibition Venice Biennale, German Pavillion "Team StressTest," Venice (I)
2024 Guest Speaker, New European Bauhaus Festival (NEB), Opening Cerimony, Brussels (B)
2022 Atmosphere Anatomies: On Design, Weather, and Sensation > Book Award for Architectural Innovation and Sustainability
2021 "New Atmospheres" Exhibition,
Architekturgalerie, Munich (G)
2018 Finalist MoMA Young Architects Program,
PS1 MoMa, New York (USA)
2017 Landscape Tuning Exhibition,
Architekturgalerie München (G)
2016 Thermodynamic Interactions: An Exploration into Physiological, Material, and Territorial Atmospheres
> Book Award III Spanish Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism
2016 American Architecture Prize, Silver Prize Winner
Lebenshilfe Campus Masterplan - Workshop and Landscape
2016 Architizer A+Awards, Special Mention
Lebenshilfe Campus Masterplan - Workshop and Landscape
2014 Pamphlet Architecture - Honorable Mention
Princeton Press, Princeton, PA
2013 Donau Riveredges (Donaulände) Competition, 3. Prize
Ingolstadt (G)
2012 EUROPAN 11 International Young Architects Competition, Finalist
Ingolstadt (G)
2011 Ingobräu Brewery Quartier Competition, 1. Prize
Ingolstadt (G)
2010 EUROPAN 10 International Young Architects Competition, 1. Prize
Lisbon (PT)
2008 EUROPAN 9 International Young Architects Competition, 1. Prize
Odivelas (PT)
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Contacts
Portugal
OFICINAA, Sociedade Unipessoal
Travessa do Giestal, n.59, 2.Esq.
1300-277 Lisboa
P: +351 93 6483 793
P: +49 171 2233 529
hello@oficinaa.net
USA
OFICINAA, LLC
28 Leonard Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
P: +1 617 230 5391
Semplice Theme
I'm foolish and I'm funny and I'm needy. Am I needy? Are you sure I'm not needy? 'Cause I feel needy sometimes. That coat costs more than your house! Look, you are playing adults…with fully formed libidos, not 2 young men playing grab-ass in the shower. You go buy a tape recorder and record yourself for a whole day. I think you'll be surprised at some of your phrasing. Friend of mine from college. He also has a boat tho not called the Seaward.