Strategic creative direction for visionary developments, brands, and landmarks.

We present select ventures in which APS Designs, led by Antonio Pio Saracino, contributes as creative director, co-founding partner, or visionary lead. Spanning development groups, public-sector initiatives, branded environments, and landmark proposals, these collaborations shape identity, elevate experience, and guide projects of lasting cultural and spatial relevance.

Modern white building with rectangular windows, stone accents, and steps leading down to a water feature, with trees in the foreground and a clear sky in the background.

  • Creative direction for residential and mixed-use development visions.

Modern building with a copper-colored curved exterior, large glass windows, and surrounded by palm trees, with a group of people standing outside.

  • Spatial identity for brands, experiences, and destination-led environments.

Modern building with circular windows, surrounded by palm trees and a reflecting pool, under a clear blue sky.

  • Public-facing visions shaped through culture, engagement, and civic relevance.

A metallic arch sculpture with multiple curved metal beams, seen from below against a bright blue sky with scattered white clouds, flanked by green leafy trees with sunlight shining through the right side.

  • Public Art works conceived for symbolic presence, memory, and identity.

Selected Ventures

These selected ventures show how APS Designs contributes beyond conventional design services—providing creative, strategic, and stylistic direction to shape identity, experience, and overall vision. Each reflects a distinct collaboration grounded in clarity, cultural relevance, and long-term value.

AELO

Residential Development Group | United States

Role: Co-Founder and Creative Director
A luxury development group dedicated to timeless country houses and private estates shaped by landscape, proportion, and enduring beauty. Currently developing in the Hudson Valley, the venture brings together creative direction and design identity to create refined homes for those seeking a closer relationship to nature within reach of the city.

AELO Development Group

WATERFRONT RESIDENCES

Residential Development | Vasto, Italy

Role: Creative Director & Design Firm
A contemporary waterfront residential development on Italy’s Adriatic coast, with APS Designs leading the architectural vision, creative direction, and overall design identity. Working closely with the developer and their technical team, APS Designs brings to life a vision of lightness, openness, and elegance, reimagining coastal living through refined proportions, layered façades, expansive terraces, and a sophisticated interplay of natural stone, warm wood, and glass. Integrating residential spaces with ground-floor commercial uses, the development creates a distinctive architectural identity that celebrates contemporary living and its connection to the waterfront.

TAMMA RESIDENCES

Mixed-Use Residential Development | Puglia, Italy

Role: Creative Director & Design Firm
A visionary mixed-use development in Puglia, Italy, with APS Designs leading the architectural vision, creative direction, and overall design identity in collaboration with the local developer and technical team. Comprising three six-story buildings with 200 residences and ground-floor commercial spaces, the project reimagines contemporary urban living through sculptural balconies, expansive terraces, connecting bridges, and landscaped public spaces. Drawing inspiration from the cultural heritage of the site, APS Designs brings together expressive architectural forms, natural materials, and a strong connection to the surrounding landscape, creating a distinctive residential destination where design, nature, and community converge.

Modern, curvy white house with large circular windows, surrounded by a landscaped yard with palm trees, a winding pool, and a beach in the background during sunset.

WATER INNOVATION CENTER

Northeastern Gulf Coast | Mexico

Role: Creative Director & Design Firm
The Water Innovation Center on Mexico’s northeastern Gulf coast was conceived with APS Designs as creative director for International Development, a New York–based advisory group working with multilateral organizations, UN entities, governments, and private-sector partners. In response to growing water scarcity, the center is envisioned as an educational and cultural destination that reimagines desalination through design, public engagement, and innovation—bringing visibility and long-term resilience to water infrastructure.

Exterior view of The Saudi Chocolate Museum, a modern building with a curved wooden facade, palm trees, and people walking and sitting outside.

CHOCOLATE MUSEUM

Corporate Museum | Miss Feionkah | Saudi Arabia

Role: Creative Director & Design Firm
The Chocolate Museum in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, was conceived by APS Designs, with the studio leading the project as creative director and designer. Informed by a close understanding of Miss Feionkah’s identity as a celebrated Saudi chocolate brand, the museum transforms the essence of the brand into an immersive spatial journey—where storytelling, heritage, craft, and sensory experience come together in a singular destination that deepens engagement and elevates the brand’s cultural and commercial presence.

Interior of a modern sporting goods store with white walls, bright lighting, and display wall for sneakers. Shoes are arranged on shelves and benches. A digital screen shows a close-up of sneakers. The store has a clean, futuristic design with green accent lighting.

DUOZOLU

Retail Environment | China

Role: Creative Director & Design Firm
As Creative Director for DuoZoLu, APS Designs conceived the retail experience and overall design identity for the brand’s stores across multiple locations in China. The work established a scalable spatial language spanning display, circulation, atmosphere, and brand presence, creating a consistent retail vision adaptable to different store formats and urban contexts. Positioned at the intersection of fashion, innovation, and sustainability, the project reimagined the sneaker boutique as an immersive and contemporary retail environment.

People walking, sitting on benches, and enjoying a park with a modern metallic sculpture of four large arches and a fountain, with tall buildings and a partly cloudy sky in the background.

NEW ARC

Public Competition | Newark, New Jersey

Role: Artist & Creative Direction
The New Arc by Antonio Pio Saracino, developed through APS Designs, was selected as the winning proposal of a public competition led by Newark’s economic development leadership for Mulberry Commons. Conceived as a landmark for the city park, the project engages Newark’s broader civic vision, reinterpreting the symbolic language of the arch as a contemporary gateway to identity, renewal, and future growth within the city’s evolving public realm.