Architect, Structural Engineer

Valerio Nelli is Co-Managing Partner and Creative Director at KBN, bringing over 14 years of international experience in architecture and creative leadership. He guides the firm’s architectural vision across residential, commercial, hospitality, and institutional projects, emphasizing conceptual clarity, spatial quality, and a cohesive design identity. His portfolio spans the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe, complemented by his leadership of corporate architectural identity programs across the MENA region. An invited studio critic at Columbia University GSAPP, his approach combines award-winning competition work, thoughtful design exploration, and a commitment to nurturing emerging talent and shaping a unified architectural practice.

KBN is a unified architecture and structural engineering practice with offices in New York and London. Founded in 2021, with roots dating to 2009, the firm brings together architectural vision and structural understanding to shape thoughtful, enduring places.

The practice works across residential, commercial, hospitality, mixed-use, institutional, and heritage settings, serving private clients, developers, public agencies, and international brands. Its portfolio includes more than 80 completed and ongoing projects across the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and beyond.

KBN approaches each project as a dialogue between space, structure, and context. From early concepts through construction, architects and engineers work closely to preserve design intent while responding to the character of each site, the needs of its users, and the challenges of building. This integrated approach offers clients a cohesive process and a clear point of responsibility throughout.

Equally comfortable leading projects or collaborating within established teams, KBN combines the reach of an international practice with direct, ongoing involvement from its principals. Its shared culture draws on experience in complex urban environments, award-winning architectural competitions, and carefully considered interventions, uniting creative exploration with practical insight to deliver architecture grounded in clarity, care, and lasting value.