Garrett Nelli, Architect, Researcher, and Maker
In residence, April 3-23
Bloedel Reserve is thrilled to welcome Garrett Nelli as a Creative Resident in April. Garrett is an architect, researcher, and maker with over a decade of experience. His work engages the material cultures of disappearing landscapes and built environments, translating them into digital twins, physical artifacts, and immersive public experiences that make remote, fragile, or complex sites more legible and emotionally resonant. This approach has taken him into the eroding cliffside town of Civita di Bagnoregio in Italy, the stark and shifting landscapes of the Arctic, the experimental woodlands of rural England, and diverse sites across Washington State. In each, Garrett has layered high-fidelity scans over time to reveal the slow choreography of change—the drift of shadows, the swell of foliage, the transformation of light and season.
He has led large-scale community-based projects, public installations, and materials research, consistently demonstrating a commitment to environmental stewardship and design excellence. Garrett’s expertise in digital fabrication and project management enables him to push architectural boundaries through systems thinking and a hands-on approach to making. His time studying and building within an active working forest has provided him with a deep understanding of forestry supply chains and the tacit knowledge to deliver innovative low-carbon timber structures. He is the recipient of the AIA Seattle Emerging Professional Scholarship, a Civita Institute Fellowship, and a RIBA Research Grant. Garrett holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Tennessee and a graduate degree from the Architectural Association. He is a licensed architect in Washington and North Carolina.
Learn more about Garrett’s projects here. Join Garrett for a workshop called Digitally Capturing Nature in 3D exploring how 3D scanning technology can deepen our connection to the natural world on April 17th at Bloedel Reserve.
