Inside The Open is a research and creative agency committed to generate a socially and environmentally responsible practice through innovative architectural thinking and design.

  • We strongly believe in the power of design and architecture thinking understood and practiced as “joining the dots” through specific projects, giving added value and creating comfort no matter the scale, the budget or the conditions.
  • We are identity providers giving a new sense to space and locality by attending deep rooted cultural values and respecting existing contexts, while maintaining and making use of architecture disciplinary values and challenges such as theory, history and critical positioning.
  • We believe in the power of a highly collaborative design approach that brings architecture and nature together.

The agency’s diverse working scope ranges across interior design and architectural, planning and urban design, research, policy, exhibition, writing, education and public dialogue. Each project is a focused exploration of architecture’s powerful capacity to positively contribute to our cultural and physical environment. A significant number of our projects are in very sensitive locations, unique landscapes or important historic settings. It is our vision to deliver projects that transcend expectations of the client and the end-user.

Nicola Desiderio is the founder and design director of Inside The Open. He is an ARB qualified and RIBA chartered architect, educated at University of Firenze (Italy),

Nicola has over 25 years’ experience, having worked on a wide variety of contracts and building types in Europe, Southeast Asia and East Africa. Before setting up his own practice, he collaborated for a period of 15 years with internationally renowned firms. Thanks to the multicultural working environments and the diversity of projects, Nicola has gained significant experience in both new build and complex upgrading programs, managing the concept and design development in all sectors of the architecture discipline. Nicola has a clear and deep understanding of the processes, considerations and issues of architecture from all perspectives. Besides, he is very focused on environmentally responsible design and promotes energy efficiency and green design in all his projects.