This is John Zimmer's architectural profile page. For his author site, click here or on the "author" link below.

John Zimmer, AIA, is an architect and author; he has been envisioning and detailing built environments for over twenty years. A graduate of Cornell University, he combines a passion for design with a deep knowledge of construction technologies and project management.

DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

John creates innovative modern designs that derive from a close study of each project's unique site, program, and intentions. His process is open, flexible, collaborative, and tailored to suit different clients' particular needs.

 

He invariably looks for opportunities to truly transform an existing context, but sensitively, straightforwardly, sustainably, and with a minimum of means. He believes that the best designs result when equal care is given to both concept and craft, and has an abiding fascination with the intersection between abstract ideas and the making of physical things.

CAREER SUMMARY

John received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cornell University in 1991. He then pursued a series of internships that balanced Cornell’s emphasis on design and theory with comparable training in construction technology and professional practice.

In the nineties, at Marshall/Lee Architects in San Francisco, he brought these skills to bear on designs for schools, community centers, and religious buildings. He was offered an ownership position in the firm in 1995, and continued there as a principal until 1998.

After spending a travel year studying the art and architecture of Western Europe, and working for a time with Massimilano Fuksas in Rome, he moved to New York and joined Polshek Partnership Architects (now Ennead Architects). While there, he was centrally involved in a variety of award-winning projects including concert halls, museums, theaters, and schools. He served as both senior designer and project architect for several large, complex buildings, and was made an Associate of the firm in 2005. He left in 2008 to start his own practice.

Since launching Zimmer Studio, John has developed creative solutions for building projects that vary in scale from furniture to whole city blocks. The firm’s work has included new buildings, additions, and gut renovations, and has ranged from the highly urban to the deeply rural.

Other activities have included teaching a design studio at Cornell University, and serving as a guest design critic for both Cornell and Parsons New School for Design. John also recently completed the manuscripts for Art Projekt: Site, two novels that together form the first phase in a series of architectural thrillers.

 

For a detailed list of John 's architectural projects, click on the "CV" link in the navigation panel at the top of this page (a pdf will open in a new window). For samples of his work, click on the "portfolio" link.

EDUCATION, INSTRUCTION, & REGISTRATIONS

Cornell University, Bachelor of Architecture, 1991
State of California, Architectural Registration, 1995
City College of San Francisco, Furniture Making and Design 1996-1998
Travel Studies in Europe 1998-1999
State of New York, Architectural Registration, 1999
Visiting Instructor, Cornell University—5th Year Design Studio, Fall 2007
Guest Design Critic, Cornell University; Parsons New School for Design