Co-Founder and Managing Director, Diad Architecture

Jorge A. Zapata is the co-founder of Diad Architecture in New York, New York, a full-service architecture firm that works on projects ranging from cultural, residential and commercial buildings to product and furniture design. As managing director, Zapata oversees client relations, office operations, and directs projects from conception through habitation. He closely oversees all aspects of design, balancing the pragmatic considerations of construction and the pursuit of ideas. His designs include the Kent Avenue Arts Center, opening in January 2017, as well as the Seaside House.

Zapata graduated from NewSchool in 1995 with a degree in architecture, previously receiving a Diplôme de Langue et de Culture Françaises (language and art history) at L’Université Catholique de L’Ouest in Angers, France. According to Zapata, he was moved by his teachers and fellow students at NewSchool and went on to attend Yale School of Architecture. He was awarded the Charles O. Matcham Scholarship upon graduating with a master’s degree in architecture from Yale. Zapata has been invited as a guest juror to various design studios at the New York Institute of Technology, New Jersey Institute of Technology and has taught architecture-related courses at the PRATT Center for Continuing and Professional Studies.

“I have very fond memories of when I studied at NewSchool of Architecture & Design and I am very grateful for the education I received,” said Zapata. “My time as a student consolidated my passion for architecture, a passion which I am continually trying to nurture. The foundation I received at NewSchool, through the teachers and friends I met there, as well as the learning environment that we as students were surrounded with, kept me true to my passion.”

Jorge A. Zapata was named the 2015 Alumni of the Year for his body of architectural work.

Hometown: Middletown, New York

Why did you choose to study interior architecture & design?

I wanted a chance to turn raw spaces into sustainable and unique rooms. I believe interior architecture is not just about being creative, it also applies psychological and technical skills. With having a background in art and design, choosing this area of study was most suitable for me.

What makes earning a degree at NewSchool special?

The NewSchool facility is unique compared to other schools because the classes are more personal. Not only with the instructors but with other students as well. You’ll know everyone at the school once you graduate which, in turn, will build a network of great colleagues.

What was your favorite thing about attending NewSchool?

The instructors and campus facility. NewSchool is like a family. From the janitor to your professor. Everyone is always happy to see you and lend a helping hand.

What have you been doing since you graduated?

Expanding my design knowledge in other fields by going back to school for certificates in photography and web design.

What projects are you currently working on?

Building a photography & tattoo portfolio.

What has been your biggest career accomplishment?

I participated in building and fabricating a typographic model for Gensler with fellow fraternity members.

What advice do you have for incoming students?

Become involved in extracurricular activities. NewSchool has a fraternity and a few design clubs! They are a great way to expand your interests and meet people that are pursuing different fields of study.

Why should a prospective student choose NewSchool?

Since NewSchool is a smaller campus your professors are more committed to teaching and guiding you through your courses. Your work will also be graded and critiqued more carefully. There is more one- on-one with each professor as well.

Master of Architecture, 2011

I graduated from NewSchool of Architecture & Design (NSAD) with a M.Arch in 2011 and was fortunate to find a position at WJW Architecture in Chicago. Our firm specializes in affordable housing, senior’s housing and dementia care, and housing for people with disabilities and special needs. While we mainly work in Illinois and the Midwest region, we have projects throughout the country.

Recent Professional Projects

A few of the recent projects I’ve worked on include Marillac St. Vincent Social Center, a renovation of a community center that provides social services for early childhood and youth education, adult employment and financial assistance, senior services, and a food pantry; Renaissance on Main, a mixed-use building in Williston North Dakota; and Travanse Senior Living in Grayslake, a 104-unit assisted living and memory care community.

And currently on my desk in the works is a 62-unit independent senior apartment building in the Construction Administration phase. In the Design Development phase, I have a 54-unit affordable housing with retail development in Chicago and an adaptive reuse of a high school into 42 units of independent senior apartments in Paris, Illinois. And in the Construction Documents phase, I’m working on an adaptive reuse of an abandoned Chicago hospital, transforming it into a 193 unit affordable senior living building. The building will be a mix of 119 supportive living units, and 74 affordable independent senior apartments.

This past year we also contributed to the Chicago Biennial “Between States” exhibition which showcased community-based solutions to transform underperforming and underappreciated spaces in Chicago. We looked at several open infill lots along Sacramento Blvd. in Chicago’s 27th Ward, and envisioned an extension of Chicago’s historic Park Boulevard system (originally developed by Frederick Law Olmsted).

This “Peace Boulevard” would physically link two social service providers that we’ve worked with in the past – one that serves Chicago’s veterans and one that provides social services to the underprivileged, and in doing so our intervention would link together the staggering number of victims of violence in Chicago to our combat veterans who both suffer from PTSD. The Boulevard, in partnership with these organizations, would become a therapeutic landscape that reclaims unused land to become a “church without walls.”

NewSchool’s Impact

NSAD gave me a strong foundation in how to be critical, and how to approach problems and design challenges. You can’t learn everything in school nor are you exposed to enough in the early stages of your experience to place your education in a meaningful context. But what NSAD did expose me to were processes of problem-solving that engage both theoretical positions and very technical methodologies.

At WJW Architecture, we’re small enough that every staff member is heavily involved in every aspect of the building design and construction process. My six years at WJW seems like a natural progression from NSAD. Working here has taught me how to get ideas actualized by learning about the other sides of architecture – construction, sequencing, detailing, and even the mechanisms of financing and development. That lends itself to a very knowledgeable and capable group of individuals that allows us to take on big projects and complex programs with relatively small but effective teams. Working in that kind of environment nurtures a sense of ownership for the projects we’re involved in, and thus I can with great pride say that I’ve taken part in providing several hundreds of units of affordable housing and supportive senior housing for people in need.

Advice for Future Students

If I were to give advice to current students, it would be to give more attention to who you’re designing for. After you graduate, you won’t be designing to impress other architects, you’ll be designing for humans, citizens, people whose dignity and worth should be respected and elevated through design.

Care about the nuts and bolts of how a user uses the space, not just about some beautifully crafted diagram, or using the most cutting edge material. Care about the resident living in the home, the elderly person’s desire to live an active and fulfilling life in their senior community, the disabled citizen just trying to get into the building. Care about them more than the “image” of your building. You’ll be taking part in making something that is real and tangible, and therefore also something that has consequence.

It is exciting to be at the table at the project’s inception, and even more exciting to be at the grand opening to see how much impact your building or space has on someone else.

Lastly, learn about things other than architecture. If the only thing you know is buildings and design, then you’re out of touch with the reasons why both of those things matter.

– Photographs below by Darris Lee Harris

Founders, RAD Lab Design Firm

RAD Lab Design Firm was founded by Master of Architecture alumni Philip Auchettl, David Loewenstein and Jason Grauten. Within two years of forming the design firm, RAD Lab began making a name for themselves for creating hip, community-driven urban parks in downtown San Diego. Their 2014 Pocket Park won an Orchid from the San Diego Architectural Foundation in 2014 and their large-scale urban park, Quartyard, has quickly become a well-known venue in Downtown San Diego.

Philip, David, and Jason began the Quartyard project for their thesis and brought their vision to reality two years later. They sought to develop a quick and mobile way to revitalize vacant lots that traditionally stay vacant for several years while the land is in development.

Built out of storage containers, the project had a short construction period and was built in a way that could be easily relocated. RAD Lab worked with the City of San Diego and private sector advisors to transform the vacant lot into a vibrant and exciting community location. Quartyard demonstrates how positive changes can quickly and economically activate an empty lot into a thriving interactive urban park.

“We believe Quartyard can serve as a model for cities across the U.S. looking for unique economic development ideas,” said NewSchool alumnus and CEO of RAD Lab, Philip Auchettl. “It is a feasible way to temporarily re-invent empty spaces while improving quality of life for residents. We welcome the opportunity to talk to other cities about how this model can work for them.”

Learn more about the RAD Lab here.

Associate, Payette

What was your favorite aspect of attending NewSchool?

The intimate and supportive community of faculty, staff, and students.

What projects are you currently working on?

Planning and programming for academic science buildings. Currently working on a needs assessment and space plan study for the Plant Science Building at Cornell University.

What has been your biggest career accomplishment?

Managing a school construction project in rural Guatemala with Engineers without Borders.

UPDATE: Kerry is now a Director at Shoreline CPM where she has worked on projects including the Sharp Grossmont Master Plan and San Diego Center for Children Community Mental Health Clinic.