Bio

Laurie Cheung has amassed extensive experience in her 25+ years of merging her creative architectural skills with the technical pragmatism of the building and construction field, ranging from small-scale residential to multi-family, commercial, and institutional buildings.

In both life and design,
Laurie strives to be conscientious,
practical, and community-minded.

Living and studying in Italy for a year during college instilled in Laurie a passion for travel, languages, history, and cooking. Ten years later, while living and teaching English in a rural Japanese village, she was inspired by sustainable design and the integration of the low-tech and modern practices that defined the local agricultural lifestyle. Growing and/or catching food locally was a necessity, which led to her interest in sustainable food practices, hydroponics, organic gardening, and integrating urban agriculture into architecture which she was able to explore further in her work while living in Brooklyn, NY.

Conflicted between building/creating and yearning to leave a lighter environmental footprint, she embraces adaptive reuse, architectural salvage, and environmentally responsible approaches to her designs. Regardless of location or style, Laurie's holistic approach typically incorporates quality and authenticity in materials and craftsmanship, native and low-water landscape design, and harmonizing structures within their natural and existing context. 

She is continually inspired by her travels, history, and cultures, and is now working on building a new house in the countryside outside of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Relevant Work Experience

Freelance Designer / Self Employed

Hone + Associates, Lambertville, NJ (Designer)

Kiss + Cathcart, Architects, Brooklyn, NY (Designer, Project Manager)

Thomas Stephens Construction, NY, NY (Project Manager)

F.J. Sciame Construction, NY, NY (Assistant Project Manager)

Gary Shoemaker Architects, NY, NY (Designer)

Martin Building Company, SF/LA/NYC (Designer, Project Manager)

Teaching Experience

Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program, Miyazu High School, Miyazu, Japan 

Architecture Summer Career Workshop, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA 

Education

Bachelor of Architecture, cum laude, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA 

CSU Florence International Program, La Scuola Architettura, Florence, Italy

Professional Registrations

USGBC LEED 2.2 Accredited Professional

Software

Vectorworks 2023 (2D/3D drafting/modeling)