Xu Zhang
Designer/Drafter



Xu is originally from China. She was an automobile engineer but always fascinated by well-designed architecture, so she went to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, east coast and got her Master degree of Architecture.
She was attracted by Lake Tahoe's beautiful views and houses when she went to the ski resort, so she decided to move to the west coast after two years working in Washington DC. She is always interested in interaction among nature, people and architecture. Doing some contributions to the community will be her best wishes.


All Staff

Kristi/Karin,

On October 18, we moved into the new house that you designed for us and have been enjoying it immensely. It is even nicer than we had envisaged when we were looking at the plans on paper. The living space (Great Room, kitchen, eating area) are working out perfectly. We’ve had two sets of guests up already and having all that open space has been very handy. All the large windows in the back (Great Room, kitchen, master bedroom) make it feel like we’re camping. The steel staircase complements the exposed steel beams and posts and is a phenomenal centerpiece as you walk into the house.

We greatly appreciate the collaborative way in which you worked with us to come up with this design. We had some ideas on what we were after when we began the process, but you were able to shape our inchoate thoughts into something really spectacular. You also were very proactive in talking with the town’s building department and submitting our permit application at a fortuitous time for us. We also valued your input on what it would cost to build the place. Interestingly, despite COVID and all the related supply chain issues we’ve experienced over the past year and a half, our actual construction cost came in very close to your original ball park estimate.

Thank you very much for your partnership in helping us realize a real dream home.

All the best,

Joe Naylor & Karen Torres


-- Joe Naylor
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