We were honored to unveil our new Design Studio with more than 100 clients, collaborators, local leaders, and neighbors on February 20, 2025. Read more about the Open House and Ribbon Cutting in the MetroNews story below. Check out the Design Studio project page for more information about our new space and why it’s important to our employees, clients, and community.

By Morgan Pemberton 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Adam Krason, architect and principal for ZMM Architects and Engineers, says the company’s new design studio in Charleston is all about boosting collaboration within the company.

“We have three tall filing systems that we can use to lay out drawings and people gather around when we’re working on a project, we have booths where we can stand or sit down and work through projects together and even though I have an office here, I still like to go out now and sit at one of those booths,” he said. “It just allows me to be closer to the rest of the team when we’re working on a project. It’s a great space to collaborate and to stay involved with the entire team.”

The company hosted an open house last week to allow the community to see where the company will be working on their different projects.

Carly Chapman, director of Interior Design for ZMM and lead designer on the project, agreed with Krason saying that collaboration is key.

“I think that the collaborative effort, for us, is how we make a truly cohesive design,” Chapman said.

Krason said they were inspired to design the new studio because of the work that they were doing for Remington Development. He said that before the project they were working in a cube farm, and it didn’t allow for much collaborating.

He said while collaboration was important, they also wanted to create a space that captured what the company has to offer.

“You know a lot of rectangular workstations, all the same gray, it wasn’t very inspiring, and it wasn’t very collaborative,” Krason said. “And because we have architects, engineers and interior designers in house we think it takes that collaboration to really produce great product and great projects for our clients and we thought it was time that we created a workspace that really reflected what the company wanted to deliver.”

He said the design process took about six months, while actual construction only took about two months to complete.

Chapman said that they made improvements to the lighting, the workstations where if the person wants to stand, they can press a button and will lift the desk or lower it, they put in little ottomans for when someone wants to sit with another designer they can, they have collaborative standing areas and technology is integrated throughout the studio.

She said they made sure that everything that they have in the studio helps make sure designers can focus on what they’re doing rather than having to worry about where they would plug-in their laptop or how they were going to get someone’s opinion on something.

“Anything that we have we wanted it to work for us so we can put the work first,” Chapman said.

While it will help with collaborative efforts, Krason hopes that the new studio with help the company recruit and retain designers.

“You know another reason that we’re really excited about this is, is we think it’s going to help us, help ZMM, recruit and retain the best design talent in the region,” he said. “We think that when people see this space they get to work in, we’re hoping it inspires them to choose to work here so we can continue to deliver great projects for our clients.”

Chapman said that collaboration has been better but so has the morale between the designers.

“It elevated the office itself just because the people were excited to be here, and all of a sudden you heard voices from across the room that maybe weren’t talking to each other before and now they just have that sense of confidence or that sense of freedom that this space is open, and there’s no more boundaries,” she said.

Krason said this wouldn’t have been possible without the support they’ve gotten from the community and the city.

“It’s great to have this business here in Charleston, we’ve been located no more than a block from where we are now for 66 years now, and we’re very grateful for the support from the community and it’s only because of the opportunities that Charleston and the state of West Virginia have given us that we’re able to have this ribbon cutting,” he said.

The studio is located at 222 Lee Street West in Charleston.