Astra Mendez, Well
1.408.506.7668 — astra.mendez@gmail.com
I am a passionate and creative designer with 12 years of experience working with diverse clients and project types. I thrive at creating thoughtful, user-centered environments that promote health and well being for people. I enjoy working in collaboration with people with diverse backgrounds to develop and deliver designs that reflect those perspectives in the built environment.
Education
Bachelor of Arts I Interior Architecture
California State University, Sacramento Deans List, CIDA accredited
Knowledge & Skills
• Space Planning
• Contract Finishes
• LEED/Well Materials
Software
• Programming
• FF&E
• Design Research
Bachelor of Arts I Sociology
California State University, Sacramento AKD Honor Society
• Contract Documents
• Project Budgeting
• Construction Administration
• Design Guidelines
• Hand Sketching
• BIM/CAD Standards
• Signage/Wayfinding
• Auto CAD • Bluebeam • Revit • SketchUp • Enscape • Adobe Creative Suite • Google Suite
Experience
Design Specialist - California State University, East Bay | Hayward, CA April 2024 - Present - 40hrs/week
• Collaborating with campus staff, faculty, architects, engineers,& external vendors on various campus capital improvement projects
• Campus design and documentation manager implementing and managing campus BIM, CAD,signage, and digital drawing archive.
• Purchasing and coordinating installation of interior and exterior FF&E.
Designer - Gensler | San Francisco, CA April 2022 - June 2023 - 40hrs/week
• As a lead designer, I developed design concepts, space plans, building material palettes, and SD,DD,CD design deliverables.
• Accomplished a complex adaptive re-use design of an existing warehouse building into a multi-tenant lab and commercial office space.
• Managed the creation of design drawings, presentations, renderings, and design details.
Interior Designer - Flad | San Francisco, CA
March 2021 - March 2022 - 40hrs/week
• Designer for several projects including multiple new construction interior TI Office, Lobby, and Commercial Laboratory projects.
• Managed Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, Lighting & Furniture consultants successfully insuring design intent was met and coordinated and aligned with design concept.
• Created detailed construction drawings, 3D visualizations, and details through all project phases.
• Project sizes ranged from 10,000-50,000 S.F..
Designer - M Moser Associates | San Francisco, CA
February 2019 - October 2020 - 40 hrs/week
• Lead the design and development of international technology company's corporate design guidelines.
• Design lead for interior office refresh and renovations, primarily focused on technology and banking clients.
• Developed and presented design concepts to internal teams, clients, and owner's representatives.
• Project sizes ranged in size from 5,000-60,000 S.F..
Intermediate Designer - IA Interior Architects | San Francisco, CA
November 2016 - February 2019 - 40 hrs/week
• Notable projects include Salesforce Tower SF amenity and office floors, executive conference centers, cafeterias, event spaces, and international data centers.
• Oversaw weekly construction walks of several floors of a full tower re-stack & renovation project at Salesforce East in San Francisco successfully catching design errors in the field minimizing project cost and schedule impacts.
• Project sizes ranged from 2,000-350,000 S.F..
Project Designer - AAI (Nelson) | San Jose, CA
February 2013 - November 2016 - 40hrs/week
• Designed for diverse clients ranging from real estate brokers, developers to global corporations.
• Notable projects Honda North American HQ Office & ZGC co-working space in Silicon Valley.
• Successfully won new work by developing competitive design proposals and meeting with potential clients.
• Created comprehensive design deliverables for projects ranging from 5,000 to 20,000 sq ft.