The Collective

The people behind every RowUI residence.

The Visionary — Founder

Julian Vance

Founding Principal & Lead Architect

Concept, site strategy, and the human-centric blueprint.

With a career spanning over two decades and a Master's degree from ETH Zurich, Julian Vance founded RowUI with a singular mission: to strip away the noise of modern architecture and return to the purity of form and material. Julian's work is characterised by a 'quiet strength' — structures that feel monumental yet integrated into their landscape. Before establishing RowUI, Julian led major luxury developments across the Swiss Alps and the Mediterranean. His expertise lies in the 'Human-Centric Blueprint,' a methodology that prioritises the inhabitant's psychological well-being through spatial flow and natural light. Under his leadership, RowUI has grown from a boutique Lisbon studio into a global authority in luxury design. Julian remains hands-on with every project, personally overseeing the conceptual phase of every villa that bears the RowUI name.

The Collective

Four leads. One integrated studio.

Elena Rossi

Design Director

Soft Modernism — warmth in glass-heavy structures.

Elena leads the studio's design direction with a specialism in 'Soft Modernism' — the discipline of keeping glass-forward, minimalist structures from ever feeling clinical. A graduate of the Politecnico di Milano, she spent a decade with a leading Milanese practice before joining RowUI, and now oversees every project's tonal, spatial, and material harmony.

Elena leads the studio's design direction with a specialism in 'Soft Modernism' — the discipline of keeping glass-forwar…

Marcus Thorne

Technical Director

BIM, structural engineering, and constructability.

Marcus runs the BIM and structural coordination department. He turns Julian's most radical propositions into buildable, permit-ready reality — cantilevers, 22-metre glass spans, floating stone treads. Trained at TU Delft, he has led engineering coordination on more than sixty projects across Europe and the Middle East.

Marcus runs the BIM and structural coordination department. He turns Julian's most radical propositions into buildable, …

Sarah Al-Maktoum

Head of Interiors

Tactile Luxury — stone, textile, and light.

Sarah leads RowUI Interiors with a specialism in what she calls 'Tactile Luxury' — the direct sourcing of rare stones, hand-loomed textiles, and artisanal woods from Italian, Japanese, and Levantine ateliers. Her interiors are quiet, layered, and built to age with grace.

Sarah leads RowUI Interiors with a specialism in what she calls 'Tactile Luxury' — the direct sourcing of rare stones, h…

David Chen

Lead of Visualisation

Photorealistic renders and VR walkthroughs.

David heads the visualisation studio, producing the photorealistic renders and real-time VR walkthroughs that let RowUI clients inhabit their home years before it is built. A former film-industry lighting artist, he brings cinematographic sensibility to every frame.

David heads the visualisation studio, producing the photorealistic renders and real-time VR walkthroughs that let RowUI …

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