NAD Projects Inc. is a multi disciplinary design practice based in New York City. The firm’s primary focus is private homes and residences but it has gone on to realize commercial projects. No matter the scale, each project is approached with particular attention to its function and purpose. The design intent can come from a host of sources, from the program to the context to the vernacular architecture of a site. It can also come from a deeply personal idea about the project. The practice was established by Kazem Naderi in 2000 where he is intimately involved in all aspects of the projects from inception to completion.

Kazem grew up in Iran and left in 1979 to continue his education in the US. He attended Columbia College and went on to earn his Masters of Architecture from the Graduate School of Architecture and Planning at Columbia University. Kazem was influenced early on in life by the architecture of simple courtyard houses as well as the sumptuous palaces and structures and gardens of his native Iran, all of which left an indelible impression on him. He continues to translate and reinterpret these influences, amongst others, into a deeply personal and modern language all his own. The work can be at once once austere and simple, as well as rich and deeply nuanced with layers of cultural references. In addition to architecture and the built form, Kazem is passionate about the arts, be it Persian or African textiles, Contemporary and Modern art, or furniture and the decorative arts. The many influences and passions are seamlessly present in each of the projects. In addition to understanding that the work is about ‘placement and scale’ Carol Prisant beautifully wrote of the work, ‘Kazem can be unorthodox too. He’s impatient with the obvious and stale in the relationships between furniture and art and carpets and floors, and the ultimate effect of his aesthetic process is something like Turner dropping in on a gallery where his latest seascape is already hanging and, with a small brush, confidently adding a scarlet buoy to the waves’.

The work has been published in the book Contemporary World Interiors published by Phaidon as well as The World of Interiors and Wallpaper and was most recently included in the AD100 list of AD France.