Elena Manferdini, principal and owner of Atelier Manferdini, has over fifteen years of professional experience in architecture, art, design, and education. She is a licensed engineer in Italy, and a licensed architect in Switzerland. She received a Professional Engineering Degree from the University of Civil Engineering (Bologna, Italy) and a Master of Architecture and Urban Design from the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA). Elena teaches at SCI-Arc and is the Graduate Programs Chair. In 2014 she held the Howard Friedman Visiting
Professor of Practice at the University of California Berkeley (UCB). She has also held Visiting Professor positions at Cornell University, University of Pennsylvania and Seika University. She frequently lectures, and her work has been exhibited internationally in both architecture and art museums.
In 2017 her facade for Alexander Montessori School in Miami, Florida received 2 AIA Miami design award: People's Choice award of excellence and Merit Award of excellence. In 2016 Elena Manferdini was awarded the PAN Award for best public art project in North America. Her artwork is part of the permanent collections of SFMoMA and LACMA. In 2013 she won the COLA Fellowship given by City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs to support the production of original artwork. In 2013 she received a Graham Award for architecture, the 2013 ACADIA Innovative Research Award of Excellence, and she was selected as recipient for the Educator of the Year presidential award given by the AIA Los Angeles. In 2011 she was one of the recipients of the prestigious annual grants from the United States Artists (USA) in the category of architecture and design.