CO- designs places at a broad range of scales and types. We are a design-led studio that cares about implementation in the built environment. When conceiving buildings or masterplans, we always consider design in its context and the context through its architecture, landscape, and culture. Our mission is to work with our clients, both organizations and individuals, to dream up and deliver projects that perform beyond the initial brief. CO- is fully licensed to provide architectural services in California and New Zealand. The practice works on a diverse range of project scales. Whether we are working on interior renovations, feasibility studies, standalone buildings, or large-scale masterplans, the CO- approaches every project with a commitment to design excellence and creativity.
About
Architecture and Urban Design
Real Estate Development
CO- is a real estate development services firm. We provide project implementation services by managing budgets, securing financing, coordinating the permitting and approval process, overseeing bidding and construction, and engaging with government and local community organizations. CO- provides development management services and invests in many of our projects. Creating housing, particularly quality affordable housing, is one of CO-‘s primary missions. Building off a proven track record of navigating complex affordable development processes, CO- engages with local and state funders to develop new affordable housing opportunities in some of the most unaffordable markets in the country. CO-‘s development experience includes acquisitions, land transactions, new construction and rehabilitation projects, obtaining planning approvals and building permits, managing design and engineering consultants, securing financing from private and public lenders, closing construction and permanent financing, negotiating construction contracts, overseeing construction and managing the lease-up and marketing process.
Mission
As a single studio that engages in both design and real estate development, CO- balances concern for the character of our design investigation with handling the critical externalities that enable our ideas to become reality. Making housing, particularly quality affordable housing, is CO-‘s immediate and long-term focus.
Team
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Weijia Song, RA
wsong@co-operations.org
Weijia Song is an architect and an affordable housing developer. Hailing from Auckland, New Zealand, Song received her Bachelor of Architecture from Rice University and Master of Science in Real Estate Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she was a Samuel Tak Lee Real Estate Entrepreneurship Fellow and the recipient of the MIT Center for Real Estate Thesis Excellence Award.
Previously, Song was an Associate Architect at SHoP Architects in New York, where she helped design and manage a series of large-scale public infrastructure projects and private developments including the East River Waterfront Esplanade. Additionally, Song has spent time at Investbridge Capital in Dubai, where she has experience in investment analysis and fund structuring. She has also worked on urban design and architectural projects with Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura and WW Architects. She is a Registered Architect in New Zealand and California.
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Alex Yuen, RA
ayuen@co-operations.org
Alex Yuen is an architect and urban designer. Hailing from Hong Kong and San Francisco, Yuen received a Bachelor of Architecture from Rice University and a Masters of Architecture in Urban Design, with Distinction, from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. His individual design work and involvement in larger urban research projects have been published and exhibited globally. Yuen is the recipient of numerous awards including the Odebrecht Award for Sustainable Development, the William Ward Watkin Fellowship from the Rice School of Architecture, and the Award for Excellence in Urban Design and the Urban Design Thesis Award from the GSD.
Yuen is currently a faculty member at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and has previously taught at the California College of Arts and University of Virginia, while also having lectured on architecture and urbanism and serving on juries at institutions around the world. Yuen is a registered architect in California and a LEED Green Associate.