Award-winning architecture, design, and strategy firm Nelson Worldwide has merged operations with Daroff Design Inc + DDI Architects PC (DDI), an award-winning, internationally recognized interior design and architecture firm headquartered in Center City, Philadelphia.
“We are extremely excited that Karen Daroff and her team will be joining Nelso,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Nelson Worldwide, John “Ozzie” Nelson Jr. “Since launching Daroff Design almost five decades ago, she has led the firm to national and international prominence and has received many accolades along the way. I am looking forward to her having the opportunity to continue her legacy alongside our team.”
Nelson has been one of the industry’s most aggressive consolidators in the AEC industry. It has previously acquired Philadelphia-based companies H2L2, Space Design, Cope Linder and Brinjac Engineering and is continuing to scale. DDI’s creative team, grounded in innovative thinking, combined with Nelson industry knowledge and geographic reach, will allow the firm to expand and strengthen its ability to deliver exciting and emotionally connected experiences within the built environment, the firm said.
Founded in Philadelphia in 1977, Nelson offers a breadth of services that include architecture, interior design, graphic design and brand strategy. DDI joins Nelson with an expansive project portfolio across the workplace, hospitality, multi-family and public sector. The firm specializes in facility programming, master planning and the design of innovative, efficient, cost-effective and environmentally sustainable spaces. Some of DDI’s most notable clients include Comcast, NBC Universal, The Durst Organization, Vanguard, Disney, JetBlue, Loews Hotels, St. Regis, Ritz Carlton, PIDC, Sheetz, MGM Resorts, Parx Casino and Harrah’s, among many others.
“I am excited and proud to have our DDI team join forces with Nelson, a company I’ve long admired. Nelson and DDI share many of the same values and are aligned both in spirit and our strong commitment to hands-on client service and design excellence,” said Karen Daroff, IIDA, president and design principal at DDI.
Nelson will welcome 25 employees from the DDI team alongside Karen Daroff. She will provide hands-on leadership for Nelson’s hospitality practice and become a senior leader within the firm’s Philadelphia interior design team.
