OUR PHILOSOPHY
...giving form and function to ideas
...embracing modern aesthetics
...echoing classic architecture
...creating everyday living art
...making design sustainable
...helping people realize dreams
Architecture is a poetic fusion of art and science realized in the built environment. The components are:
Our Client - The end users’ desires and functional needs for the interior and exterior spaces
The Site - The unique quality of each individual location and its context including the qualities of the setting, views, light, micro- climate and eco-systems
Vision - An architectural vision of a spatial experience which enhances the quality of living
Design - Rich design elements that are well thought-out and detailed for construction
Technology - Optimal engineering, technology and materials to create a sustainable building
Codes - Local planning ordinances and current building codes
Human activities become harmoniously adjusted to this built environment once lived-in. The intellectual, emotional and financial investment of the users, designers and builders is enormously rewarding for all involved.
OUR SERVICES
Master Planning and Feasibility Studies - In order to determine the ultimate development of a site, we analyze all aspects of its parameters--constraints and opportunities, and study various options for a phased development if appropriate. We also can quickly produce a project scheme which can be analyzed from various perspectives, such as constructability and financial feasibility.
Building Design - Once a project scheme is agreed with the client, ZSA will work with the planning and building departments and the client to bring the scheme to the detailed level for bidding or negotiating with contractors, and for approvals from the authorities to build.
Interior Design - We specialize in a range of interior design styles to suit clients' needs and tastes, but most of our clients prefer a modernist approach to materials, colors and details.
Landscape Design - Conceptual and detailed design for site work is provided by ZSA, often in conjunction with a Landscape Architect whose work we coordinate and direct for compatibility with the overall design intent of the building projects.
Lena N. Zhang
Lena Zhang, AIA , LEED AP, is the founding Principal of Z Studio Architects in San Francisco over 15 years ago, after a long career with a number of high design firms specializing in large scale projects around the world. With a background in designing and managing large award-winning projects, Lena was motivated to start a practice focused on client care, environmental sensitivity and exceptional design. While Lena's aesthetic leanings are toward modernism in design, all of her work is grounded in a knowledge and respect for both classical architecture and site specific context. Large and small projects are executed with the same attention to listening to the client's needs, and executing with a limitless attention to detail. All projects have a foundation in the natural environment, and Lena is always testing and applying the best practices for sustainable design to her work. With an M.Arch. from New York State University, Buffalo, and a B.S. in Building Structural Engineering from Tongji University in Shanghai, Lena’s combined knowledge in both fields has bolstered her efforts on many challenging projects.
Roger A. Swanson
Roger Swanson, AIA joined Z Studio 5 years ago in the practice as a Principal, after more than 35 years at the San Francisco-based global firm of Anshen + Allen Architects, where he was President and CEO, and Stantec where he was Vice President. During his tenure at Anshen + Allen, the practice was awarded the California AIA Firm of the Year Honor, and the firm's designs won dozens of local, national and international design awards. Besides leading the 450-person firm, Roger also served as a hands-on Principal-in-Charge on many of the practice's largest and most significant healthcare and academic projects. Roger's projects included many firsts--such as the first LEED Gold Hospital, and internationally recognized design awards. A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley’s M.Arch. program, Roger focused his career on improving the environments for learning, healing and discovery. His particular areas of specialty have been in campus planning and conceptual design, while also thoroughly grounded in the basics of the technology ofdesign and construction.
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