John Neilson

Project Engineer | M.Sc.
Music aficionado, Traveler, Vexillologist

John obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering at the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo, in his native Brazil. His first projects involved designing concrete bridges for the new beltway around São Paulo, one of the major infrastructure developments of the city. After some years of practicing engineering in Brazil, he decided to dedicate 16 months to travelling, before moving to Sweden to continue his studies. It was during his Master’s at the Royal Institute of Technology of Stockholm (KTH) that John first began to work with mass timber, which resulted in a thesis that involved structural dynamics applied to a mass timber arch bridge.

John is greatly interested in architecture and how structures have the potential to inspire. This drive to engineer structures where architecture plays a central role led him to Aspect, where he is excited to work on unique and interesting projects.

When not thinking about engineering, John is likely thinking about music, and he finds that the Sergey Rachmaninoff’s quote “Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music” is a bittersweet truth. Still, he feels that learning new pieces on the piano or discovering new music in the dusty corners of the internet is an endlessly enriching experience.

As part of his passion for travelling and other cultures, John developed a curiosity for vexillology (the study of flags and their design), and at one point could name the flags of all countries in the world.