About
Yingzhuo Wang
Design Professional at HOK | LEED GA — Chicago, IL
Yingzhuo Wang is a full-time Design Professional at HOK in Chicago, where she works on large-scale public architecture including airports and healthcare facilities. With a Master of Architecture from the University of Virginia and LEED GA accreditation, her work explores how architecture can address housing affordability through careful observation, analysis, and incremental intervention.
Prior to her full-time role at HOK, she interned at HOK Chicago, worked as a Design Assistant at BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) in New York, and interned at Dietsche Dietsche Architects in Wilmington, NC, gaining experience across digital and physical modeling, construction documentation, and large-scale design coordination.
Wang's competition work, including the award-winning “Re: Alley” project for the AIA Denver Affordable Housing Challenge, demonstrates her ability to balance intellectual exploration with practical problem-solving. She views competitions as spaces for “intellectual freedom” while remaining grounded in real constraints.
Design Philosophy
Transforming constraints into opportunities
Architecture functions as both expression and systematic problem-solving. Most challenges can be addressed through careful observation, analysis, and iteration. Rather than seeking perfect solutions, the goal is to make informed decisions within real limits.
This means approaching affordability not as a constraint that diminishes design quality, but as a generative force. The most impactful architecture often emerges from the most demanding conditions.
Core Values
Community Integration
Architecture should strengthen neighborhoods, not displace them. Every design decision considers its impact on existing social fabric.
Social Equity
Affordable housing deserves the same spatial quality and material thoughtfulness as any other building type.
Density & Livability
Through careful observation and iteration, we create living environments that are both compact and generous.
Sustainable Practice
Sustainability begins with respecting what exists — adapting, reusing, and building incrementally.
Timeline
Honorable Mention — AIA Denver
AIA Denver Affordable Housing Challenge for "Re: Alley" — adaptive reuse of Denver alleyways into incremental affordable housing.
Design Professional — HOK (Full-time)
Full-time design professional at HOK Chicago, working on large-scale public architecture including airports and healthcare facilities. LEED GA accredited.
Architectural Intern — HOK
Participated in massing studies, 3D printing exercises, physical modeling, analytical diagrams, and renderings at HOK Chicago.
Design Assistant — BIG
Created digital models, engaged with physical model making, and 3D printed models at Bjarke Ingels Group in New York.
Architectural Intern — Dietsche Dietsche Architects
Participated in concept and actual projects in Wilmington, NC. Detailed construction drawings, sections, plans, and digital modeling.
Master of Architecture — UVA
University of Virginia School of Architecture with a focus on community-centered design.
Education & Credentials
Master of Architecture
University of Virginia
LEED Green Associate
U.S. Green Building Council
Skills & Tools
Let's Connect
Interested in working together?
I'm always open to discussing new projects, community-focused design challenges, and opportunities to create meaningful impact through architecture.
Get in Touch