Born in Hampstead London to a Sicilian father and a Dutch mother, during my graduate studies at the Politecnico di Milano with Professor Ezio Manzini, I gained experience in a multinational company specializing in building technologies. My professional path continued with the establishment of two different architecture and design studios (Archimuse & Partners and NVK Design by Natasha Calandrino Van Kleef), in which I applied the most innovative technologies and created different design solutions for the architecture of indoor and outdoor spaces, giving rise to multiple patents also shared with some institutions such as the Politecnico itself (Modellable Wall and Sandbrick System), or the National Institute of Astrophysics (Saturn).

The focus on sustainability that arose in the corridors of the Department of Technology and Design led me in 2002 to write (together with physicist Gianni Fabri and colleagues Laura Vignati and Marco Tronci), the Slowdesign manifesto, later put into practice in the creation of the Nvk Daydoll fashion collection (which also became Lenzing's brand ambassador), and certified by the Ministry of Health. Due to the highly innovative character of the latter brand, I was selected by the Prince Claus Fund Foundation in Amsterdam to report during the cultural meetings of the Dutch Royal Family Foundation. My passion for art and mastery of English led me to collaborate with the curator of the Imago Mundi Foundation to edit 4 volumes of contemporary art (Netherlands, Fijji, Australia and New Zealand), and as a designer for the exhibition displays of Pakistani artists at the Diocesan Museum and Palazzo Serbelloni.

Always convinced that wellness, science, technology and culture are indispensable aspects of a healthy society, since 2018 I have been appointed Expert of Environment Commission and Culture Commission of Municipality 1 in Milan, a role that has allowed me to draft several cultural projects of public utility such as the popular health day “Amici per la Pelle - la moda salutare” with Mauro Rossetti, textile chemist of the Textile and Health Association, and Giulio Tosti, dermatologist of the IEO, or public divulgative initiatives such as the Multidisciplinary Congress Contagio - Humans against viruses together with the Presidency of the Council of the Municipality of Milan, Safety Week during which I presented the project Tactile Plates for the mobility of the visually impaired and blind, and the scientific-disclosing day “Microplastics in human health” again in collaboration with the Presidency of the Milan City Council.