Gregory Melitonov is the founder and partner of Taller KEN, a New York- and Guatemala-based architecture practice focused on playful design with social and cultural relevancy. Co-founded with Ines Guzman in 2013, the firm embraces the collaborative nature of making partnerships and connections. Incorporating a multitude of voices, our work goes beyond merely elevating elements of design to creating an architecture with broad appeal.The firm often works in developing countries and urban areas defined by an imbalance of growth and social inequities. Realizing projects in this context has helped the practice establish its approach to working in the public realm. In 2016, Taller KEN began an annual design-build initiative, FUNdaMENTAL in order to work more closely with local communities. The program brings design interns together with real world problems and partners to engage in all phases of realizing of a public urban intervention for the collective good.
At MacDowell, Gregory developed a draft of a non-fiction book alternating between memoir and industry commentary, providing an accessible look at the architecture field. Melitonov was awarded the Architectural League Prize in 2019.
