zoka zola architecture + urban design    1737 west ohio street   chicago IL 60622    t 312 491 9431    f 312 491 9432    info@zokazola.com





zoka zola

Biography
Zoka Zola was born in Rijeka, Croatia.
She studied architecture at Zagreb University in Croatia and at the Architectural Association in London. Zoka holds a Masters of Architecture degree. In 1990, she received the RIBA Student Award. She worked for a number of the well known studios: David Chipperfield Architects, Sir Michael Hopkins + Partners, OMA in London; Prof. Vittorio De Feo, Prof. Francesco Cellini, Prof. Paolo Portoghesi in Rome; and Prof Wilhelm Holzbauer in Vienna. Qualified as an architect in the UK in 1990, Zoka established her own studio in London. In 1995, she received the Young Architect of the Year Award, an annual award to one individual, in the UK. During her years in London, she also taught architecture as a Senior Lecturer at the Oxford Brookes University in Oxford, and she was a Unit Master at the Architectural Association in London. In 1997, Zoka moved to Chicago where she first worked at De Stefano and Partners and started teaching at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Later, Zoka established her own studio in Chicago and designed her own house, completed in July 2002, which won the Home of the Year Award as the best home in North America. Over the years she continues to be a guest lecturer at many universities nationally and internationally.


zoka zola
Photographer: Varakan Ten Tipprapa





studio





Professional Affiliations
Architect licensed in Illinois USA, UK and European Union

NCARB Certified (eligible for licenses throughout USA)

Member of American Institute of Architects (AIA)

Member of Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)

Chair of RIBA-USA Mid-West Chapter

LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environment Design) Accredited Professional

Chicago Energy Conservation Certified Professional


Comments from Clients

--"Through Zoka's patience and insight she
--achieved a spectacular design solution
--within a limited budget. She worked
--extremely well within the exhibition team,
--taking on board practical problems, yet
--keeping her vision clear, simple and
--striking... Her quiet confidence and
--assured calm ensured a much praised end
--result. The secret of her success was
--attention to detail, precise time and
--materials management, direct and frequent
--communication and clear expression of
--concept. These qualities are topped with a
--wry sense of humor."

Dr Helen Clifford, curator of the 20th Century Silver exhibition


--"Zoka's innovative and elegant solution
--fulfilled a very exacting brief beautifully.
--Her professionalism ensured both that the
--project was completed on budget and
--within very tight schedule, and that her
--artistic vision was maintained, whilst
--achieving the rigorous standards of
--security and environmental control for the
--objects."

Linda Theophilus, Head of the Exhibitions and Collection at the Crafts Council





location


Click for Detail
1737 w ohio street  chicago   IL  60622
t 312 491 9431
e info@zokazola.com



If you wish to join us
Please send five to twenty pages (printed - do not send via e-mail) illustrating a range of your work, including your resume and references to

Zoka Zola, architecture + urban design 
Attn: Adi Kohn 
1737 West Ohio Street
Chicago, IL 60622
USA

Your experience in our office will qualify as an internship for the EU licenses or IDP in USA.




Web Design Credits:
Information Design: Conrad Newman
Interaction and Visual Design: Conrad Newman, Rick Hoobler, Zoka Zola, Tanja Reiche, Manuela Koelke
Web Development: Josh Campbell






recent awards
Emerging Visions award organized by Chicago Architecture Club in March 2005

Pfanner House won the Home of the Year 2003 Award (of North America) by Architecture magazine

Jury:
--"...helps define what it means to be "at home" in our complicated world
- a delightful windfall...";
--"[It reminds us of the] importance of developing livable urban cores..."
--"suggesting alternatives to the prototypical housing..."
--"objective of our selection is to communicate to the public what
--architecture - good architecture - is about.
Editor:
--"startlingly different study in North American domestic condition"
--"[It] elevates our discourse about the places where we live"
--"[It] challenges our preconceptions and prejudices about the home, yet [it
--is] so remarkably budget conscious product that can seduce a broad
--consuming public... showing how high design breeds high value."
--"But most of all we hope it suggests new ways to consider the perpetual
--challenges of residential architecture."


publications0



American Masterworks
Houses of the Twentieth & Twenty-first Centuries
forthcoming Oct 2008

link to amazon



Tasarim, (Turkey), Issue 182/June 2008




Live/Work, Deborah K. Dietsch, 2008

link to amazon




Pol Oxygen, (Australia), Issue 26/2008




Mark, (Amsterdam), April/May 2008




The New York Times, (USA national paper), April 6th 2008

Chicago Life



Domino, (USA), March 2008



Design + Architecture, (Singapore), February 2008



Dwell, (USA), November 2007



International Houses Atlas, Casey C.M. Mathewson, 2007



The New 100 Houses x 100 Architects, Robyn Beaver, 2007

link to amazon




Architectural Record, (USA), March 2007




Business POV - video stories about Chicago innovators
5 minute video


World Changing, a users guide for the 21st century, Abrams, New York
with a foreword by Al Gore, November 2006

2 page feature

link to amazon



Product News, (USA) July/August 2006
Great Chicago Places & Spaces, May 2006

2A Architecture and Art, (Dubai), forthcoming

Contemporary Design in Detail: Sustaianable Environments, (USA), forthcoming

Archiworld, (Korea), April 2006



Interior Digest, (Russia), May 2006



Diseno Interior, (Spain), April 2006



Chicago Home, (USA), Spring 2006

"Practical Visionary"

"You want a house that is a work of art, that expresses an opinion about space, home, privacy, and intimacy. You also want it to accommodate your child, your dog, your office, and your heating budget. Go to Zoka Zola."



25 Houses, Harper Collins, 2005

link to amazon




Hauser, (Germany), November 2005

--


Crain's Chicago Business, September 26th 2005

--Chicago area's 20 Coolest Homes



Jerwood Applied Arts Prize 2005: Metal

--Zoka Zola in conversation with Helen Clifford
--Creative Relationships: An Architect's Point of View



Chicago Reader, Section: Our Town, September 16th 2005

--"The two make a cute couple - though he is about a hundred years older
--than she is. (Typical)"



teNeues, CHICAGO architecture & design guide

link to amazon




Fox TV Chicago News - 9.00pm - June 23rd 2005

--News report about the Zero Energy Home
-


Oris Ideja, (Croatia, Austria), 2005

--Excerpt from Zoka's sketchbook as part of a traveling exhibition.



Architecture, (USA), May 2005

--The Open House and the Three-Week Utopia
--"Architects from emerging firms discuss the promises and perils of
--design leadership - and see light at the end of the tunnel."



Focus, (USA), May 2005



Architecture, (USA), April 2005



The Sunday Times, (UK), November 2004
--"There were real delights; however perhaps non greater than Croatian-
--born, London educated Zoka Zola's first building; the Pfanner House;
--where she and her family live in Chicago. Subtle, sophisticated and
--wonderfully scaled, it was named House of the Year in North America in
--2003."



Detail, (China), October 2004



Casabella, (Italy), October 2004



Chicago Tribune, (USA national Paper), August 1st 2004
Quoted in article about solar energy

RIBA Journal, (UK), August 2004
Photos of ZZ at RIBA's trip to China

RIBA Journal, (UK), July 2004
Photo of ZZ as part of RIBA-China Delegation



Oris, (Croatia), July 2004

--"... this architecture as safeguard of our critical conscience."



Architecture, (USA), June 2004
"On the Boards" section, Mixed Use Development



Chicago Tribune, (USA national paper), December 2003 holiday issue
Sunday paper

--"[the Pfanner House is] a modern commentary upon the rich legacy of
--Chicago architecture"



RIBA Journal, (UK), December 2003



Architecture, (USA), November 2003




recent and forthcoming lectures0

Energy Day at Northwestern University, (USA), May 19th 2007

Chicago Architecture Foundation, (USA), October 10th 2006

American Institute of Architects, (USA), July 18th 2006

Chicago Center for Green Technology, (USA), April 15th 2006

Chicago Center for Green Technology, (USA), May 14th 2005

“Making of the Zero Energy House in Chicago”; Chicago Expo at McCormick Center: April 24th 2005

Green Pavillion at the Chicago Home Expo, (USA), April 23rd 2005

Aubor University, Rural Studio, (USA), February 28th 2005

Zhengzhou DiverseCity Forum, (China) May 20th 2004

Beijing International Forum, (China) May 18th 2004

The Berlage Institute, (Neatherlands), May 8th 2003

Barcelona School of Architecture, (Spain), April 2nd 2003

The School at the Art Institiute at Chicago, (USA), March 13th 2003

Chicago Architectural Club, (USA), December 17th 2002



Juror0

Beijing DiverseCity Exhibition Finalists, (China), May 2004

Zhengzhou DiverseCity Exhibition Finalist, (China) May 20th 2004

Burnham Prize Finalist, Chicago, (USA), May 2004


Exhibition Organizer / Curator0

Co-coordinated DiverseCity Exhibition at the AIA Convention in Chicago, June 2004


Exhibitions0

Work exhibited as part of DiverseCity Exhibition:

http://www.diversecity-architects.com/P2/venues.htm

Cardiff: December 2006

Manchester: November 2006

Cambridge: November 2006

Birmingham: October 2006

Manchester: September 2006

Oxford: June 2006

Newcastle: April 2006

Athens: November 2005

Paris: October 2005

Istanbul: July 2005

Brussels: May 2005

Dublin: November 2004 – January 2005

Chicago: AIA Convention, June 2004

Beijing + Zhengzhou: May 2004

Auckland: March 2004

Sydney: March 2004

AIA Chapter office in Los Angeles (USA) March - September 2004

Beijing Soho Development (China), May - June 2004

Royal Australian Institute of Architects, Sydney, March - April 2004

University of Auckland, Auckland, (New Zealand) Feb. - Mar. 2004

Los Angeles, British Consulate General, January - February 2004

Boston: Build Boston, (USA), November 2003

London – Launch: RIBA, October 2003

others:

Chicago: I-Space Gallery CAC show; February 2005

©Zoka Zola 2005