Learning from the Case Study House Program

November 2, 2017

We previously made a list of the architects who inspire our work the most, and now we're shining a spotlight on a group of architects and a famous program that especially provides inspiration to our residential design concepts: The Case Study House program from 1945 - 1966. Famous architects like Charles Eames and A. Quincy Jones were part of this program, and we hold many of the architects of the Case Study House program in very high regard. Their houses still hold much cultural value, delivering a "wow" factor over 60 years later.

The Case Study House program was created in response to the demand for single-family residential housing in the post-World War II era. This call for housing led to what is now referred to as suburbia. A group of architects came together in January 1945 to create the Case Study House program, where they announced in Arts & Architecture magazine that each architect will take it upon themselves to build a house that is capable of duplication. Each house would then be on display for the public to walk through and determine how successfully the job had been done. Many of these houses are still standing in Los Angeles, CA.

These houses represent how architects had a voice during the 1940s - 1960s, especially when it came to residential development. Developers back then took cues from the architects, which is vastly different compared to today's market. The Case Study House program embodied a spirit of curiosity from that era, which is a spirit that we at SZ always strive to maintain.

Coppei Partners - Design for Innovative Collaboration

October 5, 2017

Suzanne and her team recently completed a 4,500 square foot office design for Coppei Partners, aimed to capture the company’s culture in every inch of the space.

Located on Mercer Island, WA, Coppei Partners is a consulting firm made of seasoned and skilled professionals who provide their clients with transformative strategies on Project Leadership, SAP Implementation Services, Technology Solutions, Change Management, and People Development. With the redesign recently completed in September 2017, Coppei’s office space is now able to accommodate their growing firm and support their highly collaborative environment through an innovative use of space.

To share more about how the remodel has influenced Coppei Partners, I corresponded with Carrie Dallas and Travis Larsen of Coppei Partners to ask how they’re enjoying the newly designed space and how they imagine it will help the company continue to grow. The Q&A has been organized based on the variety of questions, which pertained to productivity, company identity and culture, scaling the business, and any other thoughts.

Node & Path - Meteorcomm's New Office Design

August 29, 2017

Suzanne Zahr and her design team are excited to announce their newest project: redesigning Meteorcomm’s 40,000 square foot office space.

Meteorcomm is the leader in wireless communication technology for the railway industry. Founded in 1975 as a group of wireless communication consultants, Meteorcomm is an effective and reliable alternative to satellite communications through a technology that uses ionized meteor trails to propagate radio signals. In the 1990s, Meteorcomm patented Extended Line of Sight as a method of communicating real-time data up to 50 miles.

Caruccio’s – A Fully-Realized Dream

August 1, 2017

It takes a certain type of person to take a dream business plan and build it into reality. It also takes a supreme level of trust in another person to help you create exactly what you want, especially if you’re not entirely sure how to make every detail happen.

For Lisa and Rino Caruccio, that person is Suzanne Zahr.

Caruccio’s is the newest state-of-the-art Culinary Event Center on Mercer Island, set to have their grand opening on Thursday, September 14th. It all started from an idea that Lisa Caruccio had to create a space for the community to gather, eat, and learn, along with elevating the culinary arts.