healing profile
Married at 22 and graduating with a Masters in Architecture while nursing her daughter and pregnant with her son, Jaya Kader’s life became a constant juggle between her two roles as homemaker and mother on one side, and architect on the other. She thought she had managed to merge both roles into a ‘perfect life’ when she set up a studio in the attic of her home, but after many years of battling back and neck pain through medical interventions, Jaya eventually found tools through her architectural practice to look within and re-design her life.
Jaya Kader is the founder and principal of KZ Architecture (KZA), an architectural design studio based in Miami, Florida, in the U.S. Established in 2003, the practice is committed to design excellence and sustainable building practices, focussing on residential and institutional projects as well as design services for social impact. Born and raised in San Jose, Costa Rica, Jaya earned a Bachelor of Arts with Highest Honours at Brandeis University in 1984, and a Master of Architecture in 1988 from The Harvard Graduate School of Design. Jaya has worked for world renowned architects Moshe Safdie and Graham Gund, and she is a member of the International Living Future Institute and the U.S. Green
