Antony Cestra is an Architectural Designer and Entrepreneur driven by his passion for making the world a better place. He believes that we can shape our environment through architecture, creating the opportunity to influence human behavior, and improving our social health. With over eighteen years of experience, Antony has developed a comprehensive workflow in architecture between various project scales and use.
Antony has a successful history of completing award winning designs, crafting compelling visual narratives, realizing signature experiences, and collaborating closely with clients, brands, and owners to navigate complex challenges.
Educated primarily in Italy, Antony received his first professional degree in Civil Engineering followed by a degree in Architecture and Interior Design at La Sapienza. Inspired by the work and vision of Buckminster Fuller, he moved to New York City in 2004 and completed a Bachelor of Architecture from New York Institute of Technology, school of Architecture and Design, graduating Magna Cum Laude.
Antony’s architectural training has led him to find a focus in hospitality and placemaking.
Currently, he oversees a team at Rockwell Group a leading hospitality design firm in New York, where his role as Senior Associate bridging strategy, brand and built environment, and helping clients imagine solutions for their future.
Prior to Rockwell, Antony joined Foster and Partners in 2012, one of the most innovative and integrated design practices in the world. There Antony held the position of Project Architect, designing in teams under the supervision of the Partners in charge a number of projects, including a corporate HQ in Rio de Janeiro, a mixed-use office tower in Mexico City, a master plan and residential tower in Miami, a mixed-use development in Astana, Apple flagship stores Worldwide and the R/GA HQ in New York City.
During his last year at Fosters Antony had the privilege to work alongside Lord Foster, holding a lead role in completing the design of 425 Park Avenue Hi-rise Tower and the proposed design for 425 Park Avenue Restaurant.
In the course of his multifaceted career, he has worked in a variety of office environments, building typologies and design sectors, honing his design skills and construction knowledge. Beginning with an apprenticeship at his family’s construction company in Italy and traveling around the world fulfilling his curiosity.
Additionally, Antony has lived in South East Asia where he collaborated with the design firm IBUKU designing and building a number of bamboo structures for locals as well as for Green School, awarded by the USGBS the greenest school on Earth.