Antonio Rutilio

Italian Architect Worldwide

Antonio Rutilio's studio is based in Bali, but a growing share of its work is directed at clients building elsewhere — from Dubai apartments to Bahamas villas — using a model built around remote design leadership paired with a licensed architect of record in the project's own country.

Directing Design Work Across Time Zones

Most of the studio's day-to-day design work happens in Bali, where Antonio Rutilio trained in Italy before building a practice focused on tropical residential and hospitality architecture. International commissions are run the same way any Bali project with a foreign client already runs: concept design, material selection and spatial planning happen remotely through video calls, shared 3D models and drawing sets, with site visits scheduled around key design and construction milestones rather than continuously.

Local Licensing Is Not Optional

Every country in this network — the UAE, the United States, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, the Maldives and the Bahamas among them — requires a locally licensed architect or engineer of record to submit for permits and to certify construction. Antonio Rutilio does not hold licenses in these jurisdictions, and no credible practice would claim otherwise. The model is straightforward: design intent, planning and interior architecture are led from Bali, and a local firm handles code compliance, permit submission and, where required, construction administration.

This is a common structure in international architecture, but it only works when the division of labor is stated plainly rather than left implied by a polished website.

What Bali-Based Direction Can Cover

  • Concept and schematic design for private residences, apartments and villas
  • Interior architecture and material/finish specification
  • Design consultancy for boutique hospitality and small-scale real estate development
  • Coordination with a client-appointed local architect of record for permitting and construction

Frequently Asked

Has Antonio Rutilio built completed projects in all of these countries? No. Built, completed work is concentrated in Bali and Indonesia, with additional built projects in the Dominican Republic, Panama and Mexico. Pages for markets such as Dubai, Singapore or the Bahamas describe how a first project there would be structured, not existing local portfolios.

Why work with a Bali-based architect instead of someone already local? Clients typically do this for a specific design sensibility — Italian training applied to tropical and resort-style architecture — rather than for local code knowledge, which is why local licensed partners remain part of every project.

Looking at a Specific Market

For a country-specific look at what a first project might involve, see the pages for Dubai, Singapore or Bahamas. To discuss a specific project, get in touch through the contact page.