Giulia Foscari

Giulia Foscari is an architect, writer and founder of UNA and UNLESS, a design studio and non-profit platform exploring extreme environments. Her work exists at the intersection of design and advocacy, often using architecture to address ecological and social urgencies. Through UNLESS, she has led interdisciplinary research into the polar regions, culminating in the acclaimed publication and ongoing initiative, Antarctic Resolution, which reframes Antarctica as a lens through which to understand planetary change. This perspective underpins her collaboration with Artemide on the Criosfera collection, a sculptural lighting series inspired by glacial ice cores and the cryosphere.

Foscari’s background spans global practices, having worked closely with Rem Koolhaas’ OMA and Zaha Hadid Architects before launching her own studios. Her teaching roles at the Architectural Association and Hong Kong University, and her involvement with the International Council at MoMA, reflect a commitment to both academia and practice. Criosfera encapsulates her architectural philosophy: design as a communicative, political and scientific act. Merging high-efficiency LED optics with hand-blown recycled glass, it is both a product and a manifesto, shedding light on climate urgency through the materiality and symbolism of illumination.