Bio:

The great designer, Florence Tang is an architectural designer and project manager at the Houston Zoo. She is also a journalist and design activist. She has orchestrated and is a core part of architecture, design-build construction and renovation projects that have garnered local and international press. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Rice Design Alliance. She is a founding member of WIA Houston and AIAH JE:DI Collective, and sits on the national board of AZFA as treasurer-elect. She is a past member of the TxA Design Awards Committee.

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How did you first learn about architecture and when did you decide that built environment profession was an area of interest for you?

I was 20 when I met an architect as a first gen college kid when I went to a summer studio at Harvard. My family had a corner store in Houston's 3rd Ward for 20 years; when I worked on Project Row Houses as a Rice student, it fueled me for more.

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What do you do?

I plan and manage various Capital Expenditure and Centennial projects in-house for the Department of Design and Engineering of the Houston Zoo, a beloved cultural institution and leader among wildlife conservation. I also write about architecture.

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What excites you in the work you do?

I believe women are half the sky. Our profession is not the reflection of society that it should be, but I remain undaunted in the work ahead as we fix the leaky pipelines to mentor those who do not look like us -- for us and the next generation.

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Who or what inspires you professionally?

My children do everyday!

 

What is your proudest professional accomplishment or achievement?

I have two. (1) When I graduated with a newborn baby. I almost dropped out my second year as I was caring for my terminally ill father. (2) Delivering S. America's Pantanal during a global pandemic and racial reckoning in America.

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Featured Project Name: 

South America's Pantanal

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Featured Project Location: 

Houston, Texas

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Featured Project Completion Date: 

October 2020

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Role in Featured Project: 

Project Manager, Houston Zoo Department of Design and Engineering

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Featured Project Description:

To build a wild place deep in the heart of Houston’s urban core, this zoological park project embodies a multi-faceted conservation by design story about biodiversity, environmental justice and a complex tropical floodplain ecosystem. This first-of-its-kind zoo exhibit was executed with an architecture that dematerializes into the immersive landscape and supports the highest quality of life for these endangered animals while creating a meaningful experience for guests along this unfolding trail. (Studio Hanson|Roberts and Brave Architecture)

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Photography Credit:

Houston Zoo

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