11/14/2024
JP People - Nadia Melim, Director of Architecture. Born and raised in MA, Nadia is a first-generation American with Portuguese roots. Portuguese was her first language and she maintains strong ties to her family's heritage. After earning a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Roger Williams University, Nadia moved to Seattle for work before returning to the Bay State.
Nadia joined JP in 2018 as a Project Architect, drawn to the firm because of its welcoming environment and workplace culture. “I felt like this was somewhere I could stay for a while and make a difference”. Her talent and drive propelled her to Associate in 2020 and Director of Architecture in 2023. Nadia is working to set a strategic path for the future of architecture within JP and pursuing projects that align with this vision. She’s also standardizing and streamlining architectural workflows to enhance firm efficiency.
Affordable housing is a passion for her. She aims to work with cities and towns to convert existing spaces into ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units), envisioning a dedicated website to promote this initiative. “It would be a great way to leverage JP’s extensive experience in program management to expand beyond noise-related projects into broader architectural and management services”.
Nadia believes the most important architecture is where people live, as homes hold deep emotional significance. Empathetic to today’s housing struggles people face today, she is committed to creating solutions that ensure everyone has access to adequate living conditions. Nadia also enjoys commercial projects, particularly adaptive reuse, finding joy in transforming defunct spaces into something new and useful. “I love taking a space that doesn’t work now and solving the puzzle of how you can make it work for something else”.
Her love for architecture extends into leisure activities. Building houses with LEGO has been a lifelong hobby. Outside of work, you’ll find Nadia on a mountain bike trail. She enjoys downhill mountain biking and often plans camping trips around gravity mountain bike parks or notable buildings.