We are CADO, a Belgrade and Lisbon-based architectural studio founded in 2018 by Ljiljana Čavić and Riste Dobrijević. Our collaboration began more than a decade earlier during our studies at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade. What started as a shared academic journey has since evolved into a continuous professional dialogue—developed through competition entries, speculative proposals, academic research, and built work.
Our practice is shaped by a deep engagement with architecture—both conceptual and intuitive. We think architecture. We sense architecture. This is not a slogan but a condition: a way of working, perceiving, and responding to the built environment. Over the years, together we have completed various projects, ranging from small-scale interior interventions to complex architectural reconstructions, always guided by a sensitivity to context and a commitment to thoughtful, critical design.
Čavić Ljiljana
Ljiljana Čavić, originally from Majdanpek, is currently based in Lisbon, where she works as an Assistant Professor of Project Design at the Lisbon School of Architecture, University of Lisbon. She completed her PhD there in 2018 with a thesis titled UrbArch Emptiness – Lisbon Riverside, which explores the architectural and urban potential of spatial emptiness. Her academic research intersects with her design practice, focusing on the role of emptiness in architecture, urbanism, and critical spatial inquiry. She is a co-editor of the Project Thinking on Design book series and co-coordinator of ADAPT Lab, a platform dedicated to adaptive and interdisciplinary approaches to architectural design.
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Dobrijević Riste
Riste Dobrijević, born in Belgrade, is an architect whose work spans a range of scales and typologies, from interiors to urban proposals. His final academic project—a design for a City Museum at Kosančićev Venac—marked the beginning of an architectural path grounded in narrative, place, and material exploration. Since then, he has participated in numerous national and international competitions, receiving awards in both architecture and interior design. In collaboration with architect Aleksandar Miljuš, he has realized a number of residential and public building renovations, as well as contemporary interior projects.
Awards and recognition
Grand Prix – 47th Salon of Architecture
Revitalization of the Fortress Citadel on Hisar, Prokuplje – 2025
Author: Riste Dobrijević
Honorable Mention
Regional Design Competition for a Modular Prefabricated House – 2025
Author: Riste Dobrijević and Ljiljana Čavić
1st prize award
Urban-architectural competition for the reconstruction of the complex and the conceptual design of the new office building of the Radio Television of Vojvodina in Novi Sad – 2014
Author: Riste Dobrijević and co-worker Dragoljub Kujović, Danijela Milojević
1st prize award
Logo design for Aquila Partners, Winning design – 2010
Authors: Ljiljana Čavić, Ivko Rakić
2nd prize award
Competition for the conceptual design of the Art Square in the City of Sombor – 2019
Authors: Riste Dobrijević and Milena Zindović
3rd prize award
Competition for revitalization and reconstruction of the complex of the old Weifert brewery in Pančevo – 2015
Author: Riste Dobrijević, Katarina Vukanović and Roksanda Karapandžić
4th place award
Architectural competition for the conceptual design of the new building of the Ensemble of Folk Dances and Songs of Serbia KOLO in Belgrade – 2019
Authors: Ljiljana Čavić, Riste Dobrijević
4th place award
Urban and architectural competition for Touristic Centre of Divcibare – 2005
Authors: Ljiljana Čavić, Ivan Ćirić, Filip Kanački
Award for Interior design
Winner in the category of housing at the Big See Festival in Ljubljana, Slovenia – 2019
Reconstruction of apartment in Makedonska Street in Belgrade, Serbia
Author: Riste Dobrijević
Publications
2018
Cavic, L. (2018) UrbArch Emptiness – Lisbon Riverside From theoretical foundation to analytical application by 3D Solid Representations of Open Public Spaces. University of Lisbon.
Cavic, L. (2018) ‘City as Music – Analogy as Basis for Analysis of UrbArch Space’, in Eixo 8 -Inovação, Tecnologias e Sociedade. V Enanparq, Salvador Brazil.
2017
Verovšek, Š. and Cavic, L. (2017) ‘Expressions of Spatial Quality and Local Identity in Urban Riverfronts’, Annales, Series Historia et Sociologia, 27(2), pp. 349–362.
Sileryte, R., Cavic, L. and Beirao, J. N. (2017) ‘Automated generation of versatile data model for analyzing urban architectural void’, Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 66, pp. 130–144.
Cavic, L., Sileryte, R. & Beirão, J.N., 2017. 3D-INFORMED CONVEX SPACES – The Automated Generation of Convex Representation for Open Public Space Analysis (Accepted for publication). In 11th International Space Syntax Symposium. Lisbon.
2015
Beirão, J.N., Chaszar, A. & Čavić, L., 2015. Analysis and Classification of Public Spaces Using Convex and Solid-Void Models. In S. T. Rassia & P. M. Pardalos, eds. Future City Architecture for Optimal Living. Springer International Publishing, pp. 241–270.
2014
Cavic, L. & Beirão, J., 2014. Open Public Space Attributes and Categories – Complexity and Measurability. Magazine AR Architecture, Research, 2014/2 Volume XV, pp.15–24.
Beirão, J., Chaszar, A. and Cavic, L. (2014) ‘Convex – and Solid-Void Models for Analysis and Classification of Public Spaces’, in Gu, N. et al. (eds). CAADRIA 2014, 19th International Conference on Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia, Kyoto, Japan: Kyoto institute of technology.
2013
Filomena, N., Cavic, L. & Serdoura, F., 2013. Evora as a open air museum – From spatial cognition to exhibits contemplation. In Urban Form in Territories of Portuguese Heritage Analysis, Design, Quantification. PNUM Portuguese Network of Urban Morfology. Coimbra, Portugal.
Collaborations in past projects
Aleksandar Miljuš, ACVB arquitetos, Spacecode, Dragoljub Kujović, Ivko Rakić, Ivan Ćirić, Jorge Cruz Pinto e Cristina Mantas arquitectos, Filip Kanački, Katarina Vukanović, Milena Zindović, Nevena Simić, Roksanda Karapandžić, Patricia Dias, Soraia Noorali
Contact
cado.architects@gmail.com
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