Meet Ziao Zhou | Designer & Urbanist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ziao Zhou and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ziao, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
Now I will think of balance as an integrated part of both a reasonable level of your focus between work and life and the flexibility to shift your focus from one to another. I like fashion and there is a term in fashion trend that can perfectly represent my definition of balance called Gorpcore. Gorpcore is a fashion style that people wear functional outdoor wear in an urban environment. Just like the day before the holiday, wearing hiking clothes in the office offers people an attractive escape from reality. So rather than spend most of my time on bettering my craftsmanship, I’d love to spend more time getting myself inspired by nature and adjusting my mindset. For example, I went to Zion National Park with my friend earlier this year. When we looked closely at the landscape features of those stunning mountains, we immediately recalled the facade details of the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, Texas. What I want to express here is that working in creative fields is like a marathon, not a sprint. The longer the journey you have, the more landscape you can see.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am originally from Guilin, China. It’s an autonomous region located in southern China. My hometown is famous for its landscape and is one of China’s most popular tourist destinations. Looking back on those early days, I definitely can relate to how the environment can shape a person from time to time, and nature is still the happy place I can be and constantly get inspiration from.

My path toward design and architecture was never a straight line. From elementary school to middle school, I was trained as a professional swimmer. As a kid, I’ve never chosen that, it was because my coach at that time saw my talent when I swam with my friends and requested my parents to let me join the swim team. I swam so well at that time and became the captain of the team. But in the end, I felt like the training was too much for me especially since I needed to deal with my academic work in school. Later in high school, we had an entrance exam that was about discovering students with specialties. And interestingly I got a very high score for vocal music, then I became a vocal music student and started to play guitar and ukulele at that time. However, I thought it wasn’t meant for me. Then in the summer of my senior year, I started exploring sketching, and painting and I immediately drew into it. I don’t have rich parents so in my mind I hope I can work in creative fields but financially I can support myself. At this point, I happened to watch a documentary about Japanese architect Tadao Ando, and I gradually felt like architecture and design were the way to go.

After all this, I applied and got accepted by an architecture school. However, I realized that the way they teach architecture and design there is not what I want. I decided to join the exchange program in my college and exchange to Japan and try to understand what kind of design education I want. It was an enjoyable time since Japan has a very robust public transit system so I did a lot of solo trips to visit the architecture masterpieces across the country. At that time I realized I had to have more first-hand experience to understand what I wanted to pursue after college. I did my first internship as an assistant curator in both Chiang Mai, Thailand, and Borneo, Malaysia. I collaborated with six international artists and helped them set up an exhibition for the Borneo Rainforest Festival. All these experiences helped me better understand who I am and continue to help me clarify what I want to do in the future.

My life trajectory is always full of unexpected things, about five years ago, I entered the postgraduate program led by Pritzker Prize-winning architect, founder of Morphosis Thom Mayne at Southern California Institute of Architecture(SCI-Arc). The experience with Thom drastically changed my understanding of architecture and design and even my life. The way he trained us to have our own voices and think of the world in social, economic, political, and environmental terms is more like a process of enlightenment.

In addition to that, living in L.A opens up endless possibilities. I don’t limit myself to only understanding the big ideas behind architects but the other creative professionals as well, such as musicians, media artists, filmmakers, etc. You can always get fresh ideas out of the conversations and move forward quickly. Also L.A itself is an urban laboratory, there are so many great architectural masterpieces here and there, that you can always get yourself inspired.

Now I work at HOK, which is one of the largest architecture firms in the world. Compared to my previous experience which is more aligned with the office and commercial mix-use type of project, I’m mainly focusing on the sports and entertainment projects like stadiums and concert venues now. Maybe it’s because of the influence of L.A’s prominent entertainment industry that led me to this path, I’m passionate about it and have a deeper understanding of how these types of projects have a huge impact on the city and people’s lifestyle. Probably a lot of people don’t know, that sports is a very specialized niche in the architecture field. Most of the consultants involved in the sports business have been deep-rooted in this field for their whole life. I’m very grateful to work alongside these talented people to design the place that brings the community together.

In all, I’m super thankful for all the people who stand by my side and help me grow in this incredible journey. This is just the beginning and I hope I can always have a brave heart, open to new possibilities, and be completely true to myself!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The funny thing is I think I have no shame in saying that me and my best friend can give one of the best answers to this question. When I did my graduate school in L.A, me and my friend Anush Harutyunyan, we started a well-curated guidebook project called Hysterious L.A about those unknown places with interesting backgrounds and history in L.A. There are five categories, such as Architectural Cosplay, Evil Sites, Selfie Spaces, Weird Icons, and Cold Leftovers. For example, if my friends are coming into town during Halloween, I’d take them to have a spooky tour and to visit Cecil Hotel, Linda Vista Community Hospital(an abandoned hospital previously, now a senior living complex), O.J. Simpson’s house, etc. There are so many fun spots, and now we are still collecting the cases for the book, hopefully, it can be finished soon haha. It’s always fun and exciting to reveal a different side of L.A, because the city itself just has enormous things waiting for people to explore.

Other than that, for those who want to have a quality time surrounded by amazing food and beverages, I have a few recommendations. The first one is Manuela in the Arts District. I’ve almost tried every item on their menus and I’d say nothing on their menus is overrated, and the taste of their food and drinks are one of the best in L.A. They usually update the menus from time to time, so each time is a unique experience. The second one is the No Vacancy in Hollywood. I’d say it has one of the best speakeasy experiences in L.A, and how to enter the bar is also very fun. The overall vibe and music are very suitable for people to relax and hang out. The third one I have in my mind is Clifton’s Republic in Downtown L.A. The huge sequoia in the middle almost provides a dream-like experience that is directly connected to human nature. Like you are a wild animal living under the tree and searching for your prey. Each floor of Clifton’s Republic also has been curated into different themes, so you will have different experiences in the nights and never get bored.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There is a hip-hop song written by Snoop Dogg that probably can better represent what I want to express here called I Wanna Thank Me. Here is my favorite part of its lyrics ‘Last but not least, I wanna thank me
I wanna thank me for believing in me
I wanna thank me for doing all this hard work
I wanna thank me for having no days off
I wanna thank me for, for never quitting
I wanna thank me for always being a giver
And tryna give more than I receive
I wanna thank me for tryna do more right than wrong
I wanna thank me for just being me at all times’

Website: www.ziaozhou.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ziaozhou/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ziao-zhou/