We help you deliver a new retail experience and design an interactive adventure for your customers. We believe that physical space is essential for engaging with consumers on an emotional level.
We help brands communicate their values with spaces that fully reflect their culture, values and aspirations. With our help, brands are able to impress their customers and grant them memories of an amazing experience.
With the use of digital installations, we turn a learning activity into a journey through the virtual dimension. We integrate cultural aspects into dynamic environments creating an interaction with the visitor in a user-centered way. We make your guests look back on their visit to your shop/restaurant/event for years to come.
While respecting classic Italian design, our exclusive vision and passion for modern technology propel us to the apex of customization. Every part of each project is unique. We use these techniques to design custom-made pieces. We tailor spaces to meet each of our clients’ need. Our approach – Artisanship 2.0 – gives us the upper hand in the ever increasingly competitive architecture industry.
External Reference attracts international talents from the top European design schools. Our multidisciplinary and international team is based in Barcelona, Madrid, and Moscow. We are 30 professionals from over 15 countries and counting.
Our vision is to create emotional spaces that express your values and beliefs to customers.
“We integrate luxury and sustainability, digital and physical, art and technology, adapting these cultural aspects to the needs of our clients in order to shape spaces that reflect both our design philosophy and the client’s unique individuality.”
Carmelo Zappulla, PhD Architect and CEO of External Reference.
Architect
Team Leader / Management
Venice, (Italy), 1991. Stefano holds a master’s degree in architecture from the Venice Architecture University (IUAV) from which he graduated with honours. He specialises in project development, detailing and construction. He is the tutor of Representation tools in the Master of Experiential Interior Design at LCI Barcelona.
MAA Architect
Team Leader / Computation
Montevideo, (Uruguay), 1990. Sebastian holds a postgraduate master’s degree in Advanced Architecture from the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC). He is currently the head of computation at External Reference and the tutor of Parametric tools in the Master of Experiential Interior Design at LCI Barcelona.
MAA Architect
Team Leader / Design
Tehran, (Iran), 1990. Amin holds a postgraduate master’s degree in Advanced Architecture from the IAAC. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at UPC researching functional implementations of computational Design in living Spaces. He leads projects from design to execution and his practice focuses on advanced tools from parametric design to digital Fabrication and AR/VR content.
MA Architect
Team Leader / Experience
Caracas, (Venezuela), 1992. Vianella holds a postgraduate master’s degree in Experiential Interior Design from the LCI Barcelona Design School, obtaining the best master’s degree thesis of the year. She is currently the academic coordinator for the master. She specialises in concept development and customer experience.
Architect
Team Leader / Design
Catania, (Italy), 1994. Francesco holds a master’s degree in architecture from SDS Architettura Siracusa. He specializes in project development, from concept design to 3D modeling and construction supervision. He is currently a workshop tutor of “Introduction to lamp design development” in the master of Experiential Interior Design at LCI Barcelona.
Architect / Technical Development
Venice, (Italy), 1990. Ilaria is graduated with honours at the Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia. She specialized in project development, detailing and construction.
MA Architect / Design & Rendering
Ciudad de Mexico, (Mexico), 1993. Regina holds a postgraduate master’s degree in Experiential Interior Design from the LCI Barcelona Design School. She specialises in 3D visualization and experiential concepts. She is currently a doctoral candidate at UIC researching technology inside architectural design processes.
MAA Architect / Design
Moscow, (Russia), 1988. Irina holds a postgraduate master’s degree in Advanced Architecture from the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC). She is specialized in design and construction supervision.
Senior Architect /Team leader
Marina Cella García is an accomplished Senior Architect with a strong track record in leadership and project management roles. She holds a degree in architecture from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in architecture with a specialization in energy and the environment at the University Polytechnic of Catalonia (UPC). She has also shared her knowledge as a professor at LCI School, where she conducted master classes on environmental subjects. Her expertise extends to overseeing large-scale projects with diverse stakeholders. She has delivered engaging presentations at conferences and authored compelling articles that have been featured in prestigious publications focused on architecture and sustainability.
Building Engineering / Design
San Benedetto del Tronto, (Italy), 1990. Gianmarco is graduated at Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna. He is specialized in 3D modelling and computational design.
Architect
Napoli, (Italia), 1994. Giulio Montefoschi holds a postgraduate master’s degree in Renewable energy applied to Architecture from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC). He specializes in project development, from concept design to 3D modeling and computational design.
Architect
Niccolò holds a master degree in Architecture at the Politecnico di Milano with honours. After two years in Milan as project developer he joined External Reference studio in early 2023. He specialises in project development, construction and architectural visualization.
Architect
Agustina is a master’s graduate in architecture from the Facultad de Arquitectura, Diseño y Urbanismo at Universidad de Buenos Aires (FADU-UBA), she has an impressive history in academia, serving as an architecture design tutor at her alma mater from 2018-2020 and an interior architecture tutor at Marbella Design Academy from 2021-2022. With professional experience in Argentina and Spain, she has refined her specialization in interior design and project development. She has recently joined External Reference in early 2023, as a part of the technical development team.
Graphic Designer
Syracuse, (Italy), 1986. Alfonso holds a master´s degree in Graphic Design and Website Programming from CIPSA in Barcelona. He is currently head of Graphic Design and Visual Communication at External Reference. He expresses the firm´s design ideas through branded communications and develops visual content for all the studio´s communications.
Architect / Light Designer
Ciudad de México, (México). Edgar is graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He holds a PhD in Architecture from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. He specializes in Lighting Design
Architect
Moscow, (Russia), 1995. Anton holds a Master’s in Advanced Architecture from the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC). He specializes in computational design and digital fabrication.
Architect
Designer
Girona, (Spain), 1999. Itzal is an Interactive Experience Designer from the Elisava School of Design and Engineering of Barcelona. She also holds a postgraduate master’s degree in Experiential Interior Design from the LCI Design School of Barcelona.
Designer
Bari, (Italy), 2000. Daniela graduated with distinction from Politecnico di Bari in Italy, specializing in Industrial Design. In early 2023, she embarked on an internship and made significant contributions to various projects, becoming an asset to the team. From June, Daniela earned a position as a member of the esteemed External Reference group.
Architect / Computational Designer
Beirut, (Lebanon), 1989. Yerwant holds a master’s degree from the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts (ALBA), and a postgraduate master’s degree from the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC). He is a dedicated architect with a passion for multidisciplinary design, bridging the gap between design and production, specifically with 3D printing, with a focus on integrating sustainable environmental practices. His interest lies within the realms of Computational Design, Design-to-Production workflows, Digital Fabrication, Environmental Optimization, and generative AI.
Architect / Computational Designer
Trento, (Italy), 1993. Martino holds a master’s degree in Architectural Engineering at polytechnic of Milan and a postgraduate master’s degree in Advanced Architecture from the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC). He specializes in project development and computational design, with a strong focus on digital fabrication.
Architect / Computational Designer
İzmir, (Turkey), 1996. İpek holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the Fine Arts University of Mimar Sinan (MSGSÜ) and a master’s degree in Robotics and Advanced Construction from the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC). She specializes in 3D modeling, parametric design and detailing.
Computational Designer
Adrian holds an Architecture masters from the ‘Ion Mincu’ University of Architecture and Urbanism in Bucharest and a Postgraduate in 3D Printing Architecture from the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC). He specializes in additive manufacturing at various scales, parametric design for digital fabrication and BIM task automation. He joined External Reference at the beginning of 2023 as a Computational designer.
Project Manager
Rosario, (Argentina), 1989. Martina is graduated at Facultad de Arquitectura, Planeamiento y Diseño de Rosario. She specialized in construction supervisión and management and in interior design.
