The Zaga Team Is Your Key to Success
The Value of a Small but Nimble Team for Your Project
What does it take to successfully complete a building project on time and on budget? The right team, of course. Zaga Design Group’s key to success is our strong team dynamic. Our structure is somewhat non-hierarchical, meaning that everyone pitches in when and where needed.
This has been incredibly beneficial in our new, virtual production landscape. We are all experiencing so many unknowns, from economic volatility to job retention, our children’s learning environment and our life’s timelines. Our flexible and nimble team structure allows us to adeptly respond and solve varying and inevitable project-specific unknowns for our clients.
Our dynamic professional landscape requires deft adaptation, and our clients benefit from our ongoing investments in common practices revisions, team cultivation, and putting in place systems that allow us to remotely work as efficiently as possible.
The Right Architectural Team for Your Project
When you are looking for an architecture firm with which to partner, it’s crucial that you look not only at the extent of their experience, but also consider how well the architecture firm’s staff works together. Does a firm demonstrate excellent communication skills and an ability to effectively harness and adapt individual skill sets to the unique needs of your project?
At Zaga Design Group, we truly enjoy each other and value each person’s unique contributions. Our team approach and established systems have enabled us to multiply our workforce, and Zaga has been noted as one of the top 20 firms for volume in the City of Denver.
We are also a nationally certified Minority/Women Business Enterprise (M/WBE) architecture firm. Our clients include multifamily and multi-use developers, municipalities, government organizations, and single family homeowners. This breadth of experience and our ability to work in a vast range of project scales is an asset for every one of our clients.
Since our company inception in 2005, we have grown to a team of 6 professionals with comprehensive knowledge of and involvement in the rapid expansion in Denver. We are the most successful when we work as a team united toward a common purpose, namely that of client satisfaction and repeat clientele.
Get to Know the Zaga Design Group Team Members
Sandra Thompson, Owner / Principal
Sandra is founder and principal of Zaga Design Group, bringing over 25 years of multifaceted experience in Colorado’s Front Range to the firm’s projects. In addition to her portfolio of myriad project types, including residential, multifamily, and commercial, Sandra has Facilities Management expertise, versatile connections, and an extensive history of coordination with the full range of engineering services. Sandra handles day-to-day management of all planning efforts and oversees conceptual design by Zaga Design Group.
As our fearless leader and biggest cheerleader, Sandra sets the tone for Zaga to perform and interact as a cohesive and unified team.
Rebecca Aldaco, Architectural Associate
Rebecca has extensive experience designing mixed-use commercial developments, historic renovations, residential additions and new builds. Her team approach works seamlessly with consultants, clients and municipalities to provide a fluid, productive and cohesive finished project. She is Sandra’s right-hand woman, and we are convinced her memory recall is nothing short of a miracle. Rebecca is currently an architecture student at CU Denver.
Annalee Jillson,
Strategic Growth Specialist, Project Coordinator
Annalee is our liaison for public sector opportunities and federal, county and city certifications, and manages the firm’s marketing analysis of opportunities. She also manages our project timeline portfolio, client communications and client interactions with our brand, product services, information and resource access. She was a client before coming to work for us, and enjoys being a part of a productive team outside of the less productive and somewhat unruly team of 3 kids at home.
Fernando Gomez, Architectural Intern
Fernando is the newest addition to the Zaga team, after graduating with his Bachelor’s of Architecture from CU Denver in 2019. Beyond his architectural prowess, Fernando has comprehensive skills across a diverse range of 3-D design programs and possesses a strong talent for digital concept renderings and physical model building. These skills greatly enhance our firm’s ability to help our clients better conceptualize their projects. He is fluent in English and Spanish, and is happy to help pitch in at all times wherever we need him. We couldn’t be happier to have him as a new member of our team.
Jarrett Hardy, Architectural Intern
Jarrett is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Architecture at CU Denver. Jarrett has a strong eye for graphics and high-quality renderings and models, which allows him to create beautiful booklets and informational flyers for our clients and design proposals. He assists our firm with a variety of tasks, and supports the design team with any and all needs on a day to day basis. Jarrett is fluent in both Spanish and English.
Torrey Forester, Architectural Associate
Torrey brings 28 years of project management experience to the Zaga team. As a project manager for architecture and facility management companies, he has been responsible for maximizing an organization’s growth and profitability while leading and managing all operations and functions. Torrey assists us with municipality, government and multi-family business, and enhances our team capabilities with his unique experience in aviation projects internationally.
Finding the Right Team Balance
It took some trial and error to grow into the team we are today. Zaga, along with the architecture industry, has experienced myriad changes in the last several years (not to mention the last several weeks!). Our field is always developing, and the expertise and skill sets required change along with it. From business management to new marketing opportunities, software knowledge and specialties, and client presentations and proposals, we keep abreast of expectations and anticipate where we are going beyond where we have been.
In keeping up with the ever-evolving professional landscape, we need team members to work well and work together. We each bring our own unique skill set; no two are alike. We don’t just fill in areas where we are needed, but we help train each other so we are all constantly learning and improving.
Interested in learning more about what it’s like to work with Zaga? We work in both the private and public sectors on projects big and small. Contact us to begin a conversation about your project.