Influential Woman · Architecture
Andrea R. Shapiro
Residential Designer, Andrea R. Shapiro, Design Studio
Tarzana, CA 91356
Her Story
About Andrea
Andrea Shapiro is a residential designer and Massachusetts licensed architect with more than three decades of experience in architecture and project leadership. She earned a Bachelor of Architecture from Roger Williams University and began her career in the Boston area, where she worked across residential, transportation, and hospitality projects. Early in her career, she held roles at firms such as DHK Architects, Inc., contributing to large-scale infrastructure projects including transportation facilities and multi-million-dollar developments, which strengthened her technical expertise and project management capabilities. After relocating to California, she shifted her professional focus toward residential design, as she found a strong alignment with her interest in how people experience homes in their daily lives. Over the past two decades, she has worked extensively on custom homes and high-end residential projects throughout the Los Angeles region, including Malibu, Encino, Brentwood, and surrounding communities. Prior to establishing her own practice, she served for over a decade as a project manager at Eserts Architecture & Interiors, where she contributed to luxury residential work involving complex client needs and high-design expectations. Today, she operates her own design studio as a solo practitioner, specializing in residential design, new builds and renovations. Her work includes ground-up custom homes, major additions, and interior transformations, often coordinating closely with clients, consultants, and municipal agencies. Known for her detail-oriented and collaborative approach, she integrates technical precision with client-centered design, balancing creative vision with practical execution. Her practice reflects both her long-standing commitment to residential architecture and her emphasis on functional, livable, and enduring home environments. Her clients appreciate that she listens and responds to what they are looking for in their home design.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Andrea
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to a lifelong passion for designing homes, as well as the meaningful mentorship and trust I received from early supervisors, particularly Mickey Krockmalnic. Being given opportunities early on to take on responsibility allowed me to grow quickly and develop both confidence and expertise in my field.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I have ever received is to acknowledge when I don’t know something, rather than risk providing incorrect information. 'To know when you don't know.' This principle has reinforced the importance of honesty and integrity in my work, ensuring that I prioritize accuracy and accountability over appearing knowledgeable in every situation only to reveal a mistake later.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would advise young women entering the field to seek out and learn from confident role models they admire; to emulate the behaviors they admire early on, as this helps build confidence as they grow. It’s also important to stay aware of market conditions and remain flexible, since opportunities can shift—for example, while architecture work is slow in many areas of the country, places like Los Angeles currently offering growth through fire recovery projects.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest opportunity in my field right now is the increased demand for work related to fire recovery. While challenges exist in balancing workload and resources, this situation has also created meaningful opportunities to contribute to rebuilding efforts and support affected communities. It's important to give extra support to the clients that have been traumatized by the fires. They did not ask for the circumstances that find them building new homes, it was forced on them. Very different than the family that saved for years to build their dream home. It's also a time of technical growth, to learn new ways to protect homes from the elements, especially from fire.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The most important values to me in both my work and personal life are honesty and empathy. I prioritize truth because it allows situations to be understood clearly and improved effectively, but I also believe it should always be delivered with empathy. Honesty, in my view, should never come at the expense of unnecessary cruelty, and balancing both helps build trust and respect in any setting.
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