Zena Howard

FAIA, LEED AP
Principal, North Carolina

Zena’s career has been defined by visionary, complex, and culturally significant projects—like Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. and The Durham County Human Services Complex in Durham, North Carolina—that navigate social issues of dignity, equity, and justice in cultural and civic places. She has been recognized as a citizen architect for shaping architecture through Remembrance Design, a design process that responds to inequity and injustice by restoring lost cultural connections and honoring collective memory and history.

Zena recognizes both the shared and individual sense of experience in the built environment—the emotional connection between people and spaces. This guides her role as firmwide cultural and civic practice leader and a body of work that unifies communities, strengthening public wellbeing and advancement.

Curiosity and compassion also drive Zena’s approach with teams. She embraces cross-disciplinary collaboration with a broad range of specialists in urban design, art, history, anthropology, and public policy. As a founding member of our global Diversity and Inclusion Council and through advocacy and mentoring, she advances diversity within the architecture profession.

Zena served as Senior Project Manager for the Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of African American
History and Culture
Washington, District of Columbia
Sycamore Hill Gateway at Greenville Town Common
Greenville, North Carolina
Durham County Human Services Complex
Durham, North Carolina
Anacostia Library
Washington, District of Columbia
Zena's Projects are about positive change
Zena believes that cultural and civic work are the heart of our psychological and social well-being. They are foundational for a society that aspires to multiracial, multiethnic, democratic equality.

Zena's Featured Work

National Museum of African American History and Culture
Work
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Washington, D.C.
Destination Crenshaw
Work
Destination Crenshaw
Los Angeles, California
Greenville Town Common, Sycamore Hill Gateway Plaza
Work
Greenville Town Common, Sycamore Hill Gateway Plaza
Durham County Human Services Complex
Work
Durham County Human Services Complex
Durham, North Carolina
Tenley-Friendship Neighborhood Library
Work
Tenley-Friendship Neighborhood Library
Washington, D.C.
National Museum of the U.S. Navy – Artistic Ideas National Museum of the U.S. Navy hero image
Work
National Museum of the U.S. Navy – Artistic Ideas
Washington, D.C.
North Carolina Freedom Park
Work
North Carolina Freedom Park
Raleigh, North Carolina
Delaware State University, Campus Master Plan
Work
Delaware State University, Campus Master Plan
Dover, Delaware