Nr. 5 of our series Great Heroes: "Her strongest belief that architecture is about people"

Welcome to our ‘Great Heroes’ series. In this collection of stories, we take you into the world of the people who motivate and inspire our team every day. You will be introduced to our personal heroes.

By sharing these stories, we invite you to get to know our team on a more personal level. Discover which pioneers, artists and thinkers have shaped us, and why their work continues to inspire us in our own creative journey.

Anna's great Hero:

Lina Bo Bardi

Rome, Italy, 5 December 1914

SESC Pompéia Factory, São Paulo

Museum of Art of São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand

"Lina Bo Bardi stands as one of my greatest heroes in architecture." says Anna Dolcetta, Senior Interior designer and working for Ce. since 2022. Lina was Born in Rome in 1914, she studied architecture in the city and gained early experience working in Milan. In 1946, she moved to Brazil with her husband, the art critic Pietro Maria Bardi, where she would spend the rest of her life creating some of the most innovative and socially engaged architecture of the 20th century.

"What draws me to her work is not only her extraordinary talent but also her strength as a woman in a profession long dominated by men. At a time when female architects were often overlooked, she proved that architecture could be both innovative and deeply human."

Through her projects, she revealed a profound commitment to openness and accessibility. The Casa de Vidro, her own home in São Paulo, blurs the line between interior and exterior, inviting nature into everyday life. The Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP), suspended above a public plaza, transforms a museum into a civic space, giving the community a shared ground to gather. And in the SESC Pompéia, she reimagined an abandoned factory as a dynamic cultural hub, with bridges, courtyards, and flexible spaces that encourage interaction, creativity, and social engagement.

"What inspires me most about Lina Bo Bardi is her belief that architecture is not about prestige or formality but about people. She designed buildings as living frameworks for joy, dignity, and connection. That courage—to think differently, to resist the norms of her time, and to make architecture open and accessible—is what has always inspired me. And that is why she remains one of my true heroes in architecture."

Casa de Vidro