KZ ARCHITECTURE
PEOPLE
KZ TEAM
JAYA KADER – FOUNDING PRINCIPAL
“The contemplation of beauty causes the soul to grow wings” – Plato
Born and raised In San Jose Costa Rica, Jaya Kader spent 15 years in Boston before moving to Miami. She earned a Master of Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1988 and is currently a member of its Alumni Council. Throughout her professional tenure, and under the tutelage of world renown mentors, Jaya has worked on numerous projects including public libraries, schools, municipal centers, houses of worship, residences and resorts. Jaya has been an advocate for sustainable design since the inception of her practice. She is a member of the International Living Future Institute and the US Green Building Council as well as a LEED accredited professional (One of KZA’s projects was the first LEED certified residence in Miami). Jaya is a social entrepreneur with a keen interest in using design as a tool for much needed transformation in the world. Her sustainable projects and initiatives highlight the power of design to help manifest sustainable practices that address environmental, social, humanistic and economic concerns. Jaya weaves many of her core interests and values into her work, including nature and the ancient wisdom of the Five Elements, yoga, diverse cultural perspectives, mindfulness, art, and healing.
JORDANNA EBANKS – PROJECT MANAGER
“One of the biggest mistakes that architects make is that they tend to deal with problems that only interest other architects. The biggest challenge is to engage with the important non-architectural issues—poverty, pollution, congestion, segregation—and apply our specific knowledge.” – Alejandro Aravena
Jordanna grew up in Savannah, GA where she attended SCAD for her BA in Architecture and received her Masters in Architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
During her 2016 Study abroad term in Ghana she helped design and construct building quarters for the Midwives in Have Etoe, a small area in the Volta region of Ghana. Teams from Georgia Institute of Technology and Peter Behrens School of Arts developed a design project in support of the Have Health Clinic in Ghana. The Midwives Quarters Have provide housing for midwives and international aid workers to enable their work at the Health Clinic in Have. Working with the NGO Meeting Bismarck, the community of Have, the Have Technical School and the department for Health of the Volta region, the project aims to revive vernacular construction techniques such as bamboo through digital design methodology and craftsmanship.
A desire to design architecture that addresses social issues and mends social injustices is one of the main priorities that Jordanna pursues while contributing to the inspiration and vision of KZ Architecture.
IVAN CASTILLO LAGRANGE – DESIGNER
“Good design follows function, and that is beauty”
Castillo Lagrange is a design visionary bringing innovative ideas to the conceptual architectural processes, enhancing KZA’s regenerative practices with organic forms and systems inspired by natural observation. Incorporating new sustainable materials, furnishings and art that is nestled into the geometry of architectural form, his contributions invoke form nature’s building blocks, urging the sophistication of simplicity through an architecture of silence.