Chaz Kern
Chaz is a design practitioner focused on developing housing models rooted in self-determination and creating pathways to put them into practice. As a co-founder of Office of she developed the organization’s first strategic plan, shaping its mission to design spaces, projects, and policies for communities most impacted by inequities in the built environment. At LA Más she managed the Backyard Homes Project, an initiative that helped homeowners build a new Section 8 rental Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU).
Chaz has been featured in Wallpaper Magazine and named Cultured Magazine’s inaugural 2021 Young Architect. Chaz’s work is in the Smithsonian Institute Permanent Collection, and she has been has been invited to guest lecture at Rice University, University of Oregon, SCI-Arc, UCLA, USC, and UC Berkeley.
Chaz has been featured in Wallpaper Magazine and named Cultured Magazine’s inaugural 2021 Young Architect. Chaz’s work is in the Smithsonian Institute Permanent Collection, and she has been has been invited to guest lecture at Rice University, University of Oregon, SCI-Arc, UCLA, USC, and UC Berkeley.
Reimagining 'Home' Across the Asian Diaspora Lab
Designer & Facilitator
2024
How do we shape, experience, and imagine "home" within the Asian diaspora?
In partnership with the Asian American Justice Innovation Lab, this Lab invited participants to explore "home" as both an imagination and a geography—examining how Asian identities are formed and expressed through spaces outside of their 'homeland.'
By looking at both private and public spaces in the built environment, we identified where we feel affirmed or erased within our personal dwellings, neighborhoods, cities, and beyond. Through collective discussions and design exercises, we explored how identity, migration, ancestry, and the complexities of cultural expectations hold visual presence and meaning in the spaces around us. This lab ran for 5 months in 2024 and invited anyone who identifies as part of the South Asian, East Asian, South East Asian, West Asia, Central Asian, and Pacific Island Diaspora.
This Lab is indebted to and was inspired by: Center for Babaylan Studies, "Home Bound: Filipino American Lives Across Cultures, Communities, and Countries" by Yen Le Espiritu, the Design as Protest Collective, the Urban Humanities Network and “Is There Such a Thing as Asian Diasporic Architecture?” in the Dark Matter Issue of Architects Magazine by Tonia Sing Chi, BZ Zhang.
In partnership with the Asian American Justice Innovation Lab, this Lab invited participants to explore "home" as both an imagination and a geography—examining how Asian identities are formed and expressed through spaces outside of their 'homeland.'
By looking at both private and public spaces in the built environment, we identified where we feel affirmed or erased within our personal dwellings, neighborhoods, cities, and beyond. Through collective discussions and design exercises, we explored how identity, migration, ancestry, and the complexities of cultural expectations hold visual presence and meaning in the spaces around us. This lab ran for 5 months in 2024 and invited anyone who identifies as part of the South Asian, East Asian, South East Asian, West Asia, Central Asian, and Pacific Island Diaspora.
This Lab is indebted to and was inspired by: Center for Babaylan Studies, "Home Bound: Filipino American Lives Across Cultures, Communities, and Countries" by Yen Le Espiritu, the Design as Protest Collective, the Urban Humanities Network and “Is There Such a Thing as Asian Diasporic Architecture?” in the Dark Matter Issue of Architects Magazine by Tonia Sing Chi, BZ Zhang.
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Stitched Narratives
Machine Embroidery: Polyester on Linen
2019-2023
Minitures Backyard Homes
Digital Collage.
2022
South Gate ADU Docs & PreApproved Program Development
Program Design
Consultant, Designer
2021-2023
Office of partnered with the City of South Gate to design a Permit Ready ADU Program that offers South Gate property owners a selection of free ADU Plans that have gone through part of the Plan Check process and are eligible for expedited permit approval. Participating homeowners benefit from reduced pre-development costs, a streamlined design, and expedited permitting process.