About

Mauro Dell’Orco’s practice moves between architecture, craft, and art, shaped by a lifelong conversation with timber and the traditions of making. Born in Trentino, in the Italian Alps, he grew up surrounded by the Dolomites, where wood was both playground and working material. Timber was never a stylistic preference but a first language, an early education in grain, resistance, joinery, and the slow intelligence of time.

His formative years in a boutique workshop instilled the discipline of hand tools, the patience of process, and the quiet precision that good craft demands. This apprenticeship fostered a tactile understanding of material truth, a sensibility that continues to guide his work.

Architecture later formalised that instinct. At the IUAV in Venice, Mauro expanded his focus from object to city, from detail to structure. Immersed in the rigour of architectural education, he absorbed lessons in spatial dynamics, proportion, and structural clarity. After graduating, he joined international teams on major urban and interior projects, gaining experience in large-scale coordination and delivery. Yet the intimacy of making never receded; over time, architecture and craft fused into a single practice. He brings a designer’s eye to craft and a maker’s precision to architecture, merging the two into a coherent, material-led language.

Based in London, he works between the UK and Italy on projects ranging from residential refurbishments and interior architecture to bespoke furniture and collaborative public works. His philosophy rests on the belief that design must harmonise form and function, and that utility, when shaped with poetic intent, can transcend practicality to become art. Architecture trained him to think across scales: how an object sits within a room, how it invites touch, and how it gathers meaning over time.

Among his significant projects is the adaptive reuse of the ex-Alumix site in Bolzano, transformed into the NOI Techpark through a competition-winning collaboration. The project deepened his interest in how existing structures can be re-read, reactivated, and made useful again without erasing their character.

In the realm of contemporary craft, he was the lead designer for the Jubilee Oak Table, often described as a “Table for the Nation”: a 13‑metre work made from 5,000‑year‑old sub‑fossilised black oak discovered in the fens. Officially unveiled at Ely Cathedral in May 2022 by HRH The Princess Royal, the table has since been exhibited in prestigious venues across the country.

His work has been recognised with several awards, including the Christopher Claxton Stevens Prize, the Wood Award, the Bespoke Guild Mark, first prize at the Salone del Mobile in Milan with Riva1920, and the Medal for Excellence.

In collaboration with Assemble Studio, Mauro Dell’Orco designed the benches for the “Factory Floor” at the 16th Venice Architecture Biennale. He later contributed to subsequent editions, working with Prof. Laura Allen and Prof. Mark Smout on Rescue Lines, and later on Ascents: Events: Implements in collaboration with MODEM/MIT and SmoutAllen.

Beyond his own practice, he co‑founded WorkshopEast CIC in London, a shared professional workshop supporting trained craftspeople and emerging designer‑makers. For him, spaces for making, learning, and exchange are as vital as the objects produced within them. His commitment to collaborative environments reflects his belief that design is not only about shaping things, but also about cultivating communities of practice.

His contribution to international cultural programmes includes fabrication work for Japan’s pavilion at the 2023 London Design Biennale at Somerset House, where he collaborated with Japanese artists to realise interactive furniture elements woven into the exhibition’s narrative.

Mauro Dell’Orco’s biography is one of synthesis: between mountain and city, craft and architecture, tradition and innovation. His work is anchored in material truth yet open to conceptual exploration, always seeking to create objects and spaces that are both functional and poetic. Whether through the adaptive reuse of industrial sites, the crafting of furniture that carries memory and meaning, or the fostering of collective workshops, his practice frames design as both environmental infrastructure and narrative. It is a body of work that moves across scales, disciplines, and geographies, resonating with audiences in architectural and artistic contexts alike.