Team

Pedro Melis

Architect

Pedro is a native of Caracas, Venezuela, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Architecture. He moved to the US to pursue a Master’s degree from the University of Michigan and soon after graduation, he relocated to Chicago where he spent more than a decade practicing Architecture. While there, he worked with the offices of Perkins + Will on large scale mixed use projects, both domestic and international. Destiny (and weather) brought him to Los Angeles where he worked with KFA Architecture and Gensler on high profile developments before joining JZA Architecture. He is a Licensed Architect in California and Illinois.

Carolina Murcia

Designer

Originally from Miami, Florida Carolina made the move to Los Angeles in 2012 to study architecture at Southern California Institute of Architecture, where she continued to explore her creative work by combining photographic effects into projects that intersected both geometry and color. She finished a Master’s of Science from the University of Illinois soon afterwards to only come back to a warmer climate to gain professional experience. Her projects focus on creating a holistic design for residential projects in Los Angeles. If she is not at her desk, she is walking her Australian Shepherd named Panda.

Kevin Raley

Architect

Kevin Raley joined the JZA team after years of work on the East Coast and in the Midwest, bringing a diverse portfolio–With experience in education, entertainment, retail, office, industrial, mixed-use, places of worship, and luxury residential, Kevin approaches each unique project with an eye for opportunity and innovation. Upon moving to Los Angeles in 2019, he took an interest in housing and has since managed a number of projects with Jeff Zbikowski Architecture. His academic work, which includes architectural design, virtual reality design, and documentary filmmaking, has been featured in various exhibits and publications. Outside of the office, Kevin can be found idly plucking a guitar, or with his nose buried deep in a good book.

Azusa Kotsu

Designer

Azusa attended graduate school at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona where she received a Masters of Architecture and graduated with a design award. Prior to joining JZA, Azusa worked for several distinguished architects including Frank Gehry.

Lucas Rebouças

Designer

Brazilian architect Lucas Rebouças holds a Bachelor of Architecture and Urbanism degree from the University of Fortaleza. He also completed part of his architectural education at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, when he was awarded a study abroad scholarship.

He has been a part of the design team for multiple residential, commercial and competition projects since the early years of his education. He believes that architecture plays a crucial role in shaping the way we live, and that it can potentially lead how we evolve both individually and as a society. In 2021, Lucas joined the JZA team and he is now on the path to become a licensed architect in the state of California.

Emmanuel Sandoval

Designer

Iced vanilla lattes no matter the time of year, cookie connoisseur, never said no to a mezcal margarita w/ a tajin rim, always exploring, are just a few ways to describe this native Angeleno. Working in this profession for over 10+ years I’ve had the opportunity to learn from mentors, peers, and some very talented contractors. However, the thing I’m most proud of is being able to drive around LA and look to the various projects I’ve contributed to and say that I left a mark on this city of angels I love so much.

Tao Xu

Designer

Chinese architect Tao Xu got the Bachelor of Architecture degree at his hometown. Before entering into the team, he also studied at University of Pennsylvania where he obtained Master of Science in Design degree with a concentration in Advanced Architectural Design.

He has great knowledge about parametric design and also publishes work in the magazine Antagonismos about the study of combining Baroque church with parametric design. He is obsessed of the experience of spaces in architecture and loves to drop by to them in person. After graduation, Tao can’t stand the rainy, cloudy and cold days in east coast and was attracted by the weather (and girlfriend) of the Los Angeles and joined the JZA team where he focuses more on residential design and how to create better spaces for living.

Oscar Gutierrez

Designer

As a first-generation immigrant growing up in the Central Coast of California, Oscar dreamt of attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s architecture program as he drove past the school’s exit during his annual summer jobs. Upon achieving his goal and graduating in 2012, he took the 180-mile trip down the 101 freeway to move to Los Angeles. In the 10+ years since, Oscar has contributed to and completed a wide variety of projects all over Los Angeles ranging from multi-family housing, single-family residential, and prefab modular housing in San Diego. Oscar loves living in Los Angeles because of its eclectic collection of architecture along with its amazing art, food and culture. When not cooking at home or teaching his pet bird new words, you can find Oscar walking his two poodles around the neighborhood.

Ti Zhou

Designer

Ti is from China, she earned her bachelor degree after five years studies and moved to Los Angeles two years ago to gain the master degree in UCLA attractive by the sunlight and music in west coast. She learned AR and VR, done a bunch of conceptual competitions, video games and virtual environments. Since she graduated, Ti is interested in how building is carried out till it’s been constructed in the physical world, at the same time JZA Architecture focuses on residential industry. In 2023, Ti joined the wonderful team and started her lessons about how to be a licensed architect.