About

Carlos Arnaiz is an architect, educator, writer and urban design consultant. He is the founder and principal of CAZA, the co-founder of SURBA and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design at Pratt Institute where he teaches a class on the history of ideas about the city and a studio on multi-family housing. His professional experience ranges from the design and construction of large-scale mixed-used complexes to the development of strategic sustainability plans for new cities around the world. Carlos holds a Master’s Degree, with Honors, from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, and a Bachelor’s Degree, Magna Cum Laude, from Williams College. Carlos’ work has been recognized with prestigious awards such as two consecutive Progressive Architecture awards in 2008 and 2009 and the AIANY building merit award in 2008. His work and writings have been published in ARCHITECT Magazine, Metropolis, Kerb, Dialogue, and 50UNDER50. His work has also been selected as Finalist for ArchDaily’s Best Buildings of the Year, as well as Finalist for Architizer A+ Awards. He has participated in numerous international design competitions including the winning entry for the High Line competition in New York. Prior to founding CAZA, Carlos was associate partner at SAA in charge of over 20 global projects. Carlos started his career working as a design associate at a number of world-renown architecture firms such as Office dA and Field Operations.

Andrea studied her first year of Architecture in Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC) Lima, Perú. Afterwards, she moved to Buenos Aires, where she studied Architecture in Universidad de Palermo. (2004-2010) After working in firms in Buenos Aires, where she acquired experience in building construction, private and public developments and physical modelling, she moved back to Lima, Perú, where she opened a physical model firm. She is currently living in Lima and has been Senior Design in CAZA and Director of CAZA Perú since 2015.

Kate took up a Bachelor’s Degree in Interior Design in De La Salle- College of St.Benilde in consortium with the Philippine School of Interior Design and graduated in 2004 with honors. She was also part of the best thesis exhibit. She is a licensed interior designer and took the board exams for Interior Design in 2005.

Gaby San Roman has been an integral member of CAZA since 2017. As a project leader for several cross-scale and multidisciplinary projects worldwide, she held key design roles on large-scale urban, landscape, and architectural projects. She is currently leading a significant market redevelopment. Previous projects include eco-industrial parks, preservation & resort developments, mixed-use transit developments, civic and community buildings, affordable housing, and research initiatives. Gaby holds a Master’s Degree from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and a Professional Degree, with honours, and Architecture License CAP from Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas in Peru.

Laura del Pino received a Bachelor’s of Architecture and a Master’s in Architecture from the University of Valladolid, Spain. After working for firms in Spain and in the Netherlands where she acquired experience in infrastructures, building construction and public developments, she was awarded the Caja España Scholarship and completed a Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design at Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. She was a finalist at the 2011 Ken Roberts Memorial Delineation Competition, and her work was published in EVolo Skyscrapers (2012). She is currently living in New York and has been Senior Design Associate at CAZA since 2010. She has served as the lead project architect on numerous CAZA projects, including the 100 Walls Church, Hamilo Pavilion, Hue Hotel, Frame House, La Salle Church, Costa Rica Congress Hall, Caticlan Airport, Sintala Pavilions, The Gallery in Lima, La 100 Master Plan, Servita Arts Complex, and Bogota Centro Master Plan, as well as numerous interior design projects. Many of her drawings for those and other proposals are featured in“CAZA: 2011 – 2016”, the inaugural monograph that celebrates the first five years of the firm. Most recently, she helped coordinate the design of the CAZA installation “Facing Geometry” at the “Venice Biennale 2016”. She loves mathematics and geometry.

Yasmine is a designer and architecture, urbanism, and design theory enthusiast from Amman, Jordan. A holder of a Master’s Degree in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia GSAPP, Yasmine was awarded the GSAPP Prize for Excellence in Urban Design. Before moving to New York in 2021, Yasmine obtained a B.Architecture, Summa Cum Laude, from Virginia Tech where her thesis titled “On Domesticity and Post-colonial Imaginaries” received the Award of Excellence. Yasmine’s academic background is narrated by multiple travel abroad opportunities like studying geopolitical urbanism in Hong Kong, dualities of tradition and modernity in Japan, and history and theories of postmodernism and neoliberalism in Rome. Yasmine is interested in continuing to hone investigative and exploratory techniques at CAZA whilst upholding design sensibilities towards socially and ecologically responsible futures.

Young Joon Yun received his education at Yale University with a Master’s in Architecture. He also holds a Bachelor’s in Architecture and a minor in biology from Syracuse University. He spent 10 years in architecture and environmental studies, including classical anatomical science and computational design, mixed with a culture of experimentation and creativity. During this time, he researched the design form of accumulated data of living environments. Through his work, he aims to specify the human role in adapting to changing environments. He continues to immerse himself in emerging technologies to ask how intangible data such as time, environment, and locomotion of objects can be materials for space development and visualize this technical design in real-world properties from multiple stakeholders.

Sandra graduated from Barnard College, Columbia University in 2019 earning a BA in Architecture and a minor in Psychology. Originally from Manila, she currently lives in New York and enjoys working on all types of projects, especially those in her home country Philippines.

Nicolas holds a Bachelor’s degree in architecture from the Swiss Design Center and has gained specialized experience in residential projects. He furthered his education with a Master’s with Distinction at Pratt Institute, where academic methodologies inspired him to merge traditional architecture with data-driven emotional design. He joined CAZA in June 2022 and now contributes to residential, cultural, and institutional projects. In his free time, Nicolas enjoys designing furniture, rock climbing, and skiing.

Philip earned a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from the Parsons School of Design and a Master’s in Architecture from Pratt Institute. Having worked with firms in both New York and Taiwan on diverse residential, commercial, and institutional projects, Philip is adept at creating functional and inviting spaces. He joined CAZA in 2022 and now contributes to innovative architectural initiatives across all sectors. Outside work, he finds solace in film photography, where he is drawn to precision and elegance as in architectural design.

Elyjana is an architect, originally from New Zealand, Samoa, and Australia. She has worked on projects in housing, commercial, and civic and public spaces, as well as working with indigenous communities in New Zealand. She is on the Pacific Housing Trust Board for Central Pacific Collective, which creates opportunities for the delivery of housing for Pacific communities in the region. She is a Fulbright Scholar and graduated with Distinction from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design with a Master of Architecture in Urban Design. She received the Urban Design Excellence Award and currently holds the Druker Traveling Fellowship from Harvard. Elyjana received her Bachelor of Architecture from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Her thesis project was awarded in the New Zealand Institutes of Architects Student Design Awards. She enjoys surfing and being by the ocean.

Alden holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Cardiff University. Since graduating in 2016, Alden moved to New York to be a part of the CAZA team and has worked on several projects through different design stages. Some of these projects include the Tan Mausoleum, Director’s Cinema, BCDA Iconic Building, Cartagena Airport, Camsur Capitol, La Vega, Memphis Mission Hospital, Stronghouse Prototype, Rural Health Center Prototype, Baler Ocean Resort, Siargao Masterplan, Bench Tower, ADU, and many interior design projects. In addition, some of his passions lie in photography and also designing and building furniture pieces.

Ignacio has a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s in Architecture from the Superior School of Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, Spain. Specialized in parametric design and computational protocols applied to architecture, he develops architectural solutions throughout the parametrization of geometry and its behaviours. He moved to NY in 2017. He collaborated with CAZA on projects including Delgado Mausoleum, BCDA Iconic Building, Cartagena Airport, Camsur Capitol, La Salle Academic Complex, The Cocoon, New Supreme Court, La Vega, among others. Many of his work has been featured on several websites and got awards. His passion is surfing and complex geometries.

Education:

Yale school of Architecture, Master of Architecture

Bordeaux School of Architecture and Landscape, Certification in landscape design

Tianjin University, Bachelor of Architecture

Nationality:

Chinese

Projects:

Bench tower

Siargao Hotel residence-The wave

Gokongwei House

ADU Modular Project

Isabel is originally from Caracas, Venezuela. She obtained a BFA in Interior Design from SCAD with a Minor in Electronic Design. After graduating, she worked at MPdL Studio headed by the present Dean of Architecture at Princeton University. Isabel returned to SCAD to pursue a master’s degree in Design for Sustainability, after which she worked at RAMSA in NYC. At CAZA, she is working on projects like the SMZ, and LA Hills House. Isabel knows how to speak and write in both English and Spanish, and is currently learning Italian as a third language.

Katie holds a Master’s Degree in Architecture and Urban Design from Harvard Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor’s in Architecture, Magna Cum Laude, from Auburn University. Her interest lies in the intersection of perception and reality, with a focus on how space influences a dynamic relationship between the two. At CAZA, she seeks to further investigative this theme, while contributing to social and ecologically-responsible design.

Alexia holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Architecture from KU Leuven University, Belgium. She pursued additional studies in landscape architecture at HO Gent and completed an international exchange program at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok. She joined CAZA in 2024 with a specialized interest in community-oriented architecture and exploring innovative ways to integrate buildings with their surroundings.