Architect, born in Milan (1967). He has a PhD in territorial planning.
Since 2014 he is Associate Professor of Architectural Design at the University of Udine. He has taught Urban Composition and Planning at the Faculty of Architecture of the Milan Polytechnic, and Urban Planning at the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy at the University of Milan. The research activity at the Milan Polytechnic has seen its participation as a coordinator in the research relating to the Metrobosco project (promoted by the Province of Milan), to the research in Milan. Chronicles of living (Bruno Mondadori, 2007) and the feasibility study for the recovery of the Sant’Elia district in Cagliari (on behalf of AREA, Cagliari). He edited the exhibition Post It City, a research on the temporary and self-organized forms of use of public space, promoted by the Center of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona (CCCB catalog 2008). With the research agency Multiplicity it has promoted and implemented research and installations on the contemporary urban condition, as USE-Uncertain States of Europe (a survey on the future of the European territory exposed to Bordeaux 2000, Brussels 2001, Tokyo 2002, Milan 2002) and Solid Sea (a research on the Mediterranean presented at Documenta XI-Kassel 2002 and exhibited in Vienna, Berlin and Rotterdam).
He started his professional activity in 1994 and in 1999, with Gianandrea Barreca and Stefano Boeri, he founded Boeri Studio. In January 2008, together with Gianandrea Barreca, he founded the professional studio Barreca & La Varra. From 2009 to 2011 he was part of the Expo2015 Milan plan office.
He has published articles, essays and reviews on Casabella, Domus, Abitare, Territory, Urban Planning, Il Sole 24 ore, Urbanistica quaderni, Paesaggio urban and Arch’it. In 2012 he published the novel Case minime (Robin publisher). From 2013 to 2014 he is the editor of the Italian compilation on Abitare online, and from 2015 he is deputy editor of the magazine Viceversa. In 2016 he edited the volume Architecture of urban regeneration. Projects attempts, strategies, published by Forum (Udine).