The award-winning integrated design firm Joshua Zinder Architecture + Design (JZA+D) has announced a slate of four new hires, as the firm looks to expand its robust portfolio in the hospitality, retail, workplace, institutional and residential sectors. Globally diverse and multidisciplinary, the incoming new talent will help sustain development efforts while providing higher levels of service and design excellence to JZA+Ds growing national client  base, according to firm leaders.

Joining JZA+D are architectural designer Shuoqi Ziong; project architect Julia Compton, AIA; interior designer Nancie Giardina, and graphic designer Alexandra Nita. Hailing from diverse backgrounds, these four emerging design professionals have found a home — and dedicated mentorship — in a firm known for their multidisciplinary approach to highly sustainable and contemporary design aesthetics and aspirations.

Founding principal and architect Joshua Zinder, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, and partner Mark A. Sullivan, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, have earned a reputation for identifying and nurturing talented professionals as part of the firm’s long-term growth trajectory in varied markets including corporate, hospitality, cultural, commercial and residential building projects.

“We’re proud of our dynamic team and new leadership, who draw from varied backgrounds and training to energize our integrated studio approach,” says Zinder. “Their contributions are essential to continued growth in dynamic, competitive markets while maintaining the level of design excellence and innovation that our clients have come to expect."

Integrating design talent
Partners since 2018 — and friends for over 30 years — Zinder and Sullivan emphasize their approach as a multidisciplinary, integrated design studio that packages architecture, interior design and other services into potent solutions to meet mission-critical client needs. In support of continued growth and
the firm’s highly successful approaches to design and client service, JZA+D has enlisted experienced professionals and emerging talents for its primary disciplines.

Architect Julia Compton, AIA, has worked for architectural firms in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Massachusetts since receiving her B.Arch from the Rhode Island School of Design. Known for fostering the careers of women in architecture and design, JZA+D expects clients will benefit from Compton’s deep experience, demonstrated by her portfolio which includes cultural institutions such as Sinai Temple in Illinois and municipal clients like the Princeton Merchants Association. She has also led on multiple hospitality projects including locations for Au Bon Pain.

With a degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s design school, architectural designer Shuoqi Ziong has worked on a variety of projects for JZA+D including for The Venetian Resort-Casino in Las Vegas, the headquarters of MedAvante ProPhase in Princeton, N.J., and a mixed-use tower for a university in Zhengzhou, China. Adding depth to JZA+D’s vibrant interior design team, Nancie Giardina draws on her previous experience, illustrated by her substantial portfolio of hospitality, gaming and entertainment projects amassed since earning her B.S. in interior design from Philadelphia University.

Rounding out the firm’s recruits, graphic designer Alexandra Nita brings to bear her background in product and industrial design, along wither her passion for visual branding, to direct all visual assets related to client branding, social media collateral, web design, product design and marketing materials for JZA+D. A graduate of the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Nita also has a Master’s degree from Domus Academy in Milan, Italy.

"Clients depend on us for building and design solutions that are innovative, cost-effective, sustainable and magnetic," says JZA+D partner Sullivan. "We’re confident in the capabilities and experience brought by these recent additions to our team. With their contributions, we’ll further accelerate our work to deliver on our client promise."

JZA+D's lengthy roster of clients, goals for expansion and commitment to collaboration will create valuable opportunities for their staff and the recent team additions. "Our portfolio includes both regional and global opportunities to serve clients in hospitality, office, residential, educational and research science sectors, among others,” says Zinder, adding that the design partnership Landau Zinder, with architect Michael Landau, AIA, has added projects in worship and community buildings Jewish congregations around the country.