In her role as director of research and development at KTGY, Marissa Kasdan leads the creation and execution of research and development projects, exploring new and emerging ideas related to building design and technology. She is the liaison for the studio, working with KTGY’s national executive leadership on new concepts and developing these concepts together with the R+D studio team. The goal of the R+D studio is to further the vision of KTGY: to see a world alive with design possibilities that create thriving environments.

Marissa represents KTGY’s R+D studio with presentations and education on new technologies, by-lined articles and news media commentary on trends and futuristic ideas, conceptualizing social media for the studio, and as a contributor to KTGY’s EXPAND Magazine.

She offers more than 20 years of design experience to the thought leadership of KTGY, having joined the firm after she obtained her Bachelor of Architecture from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. Her varied architecture experience includes work on residential, retail, and mixed-use developments both at KTGY and for several years with a competitive regional design firm.
KTGY’s R+D Studio has been awarded numerous design awards, including winning NMHC’s Innovation Challenge in 2019 for the Park House design concept, a re-use concept for transforming under-used parking structure space with modular housing, and the AIA Orange County Inspire Award in 2018 for Re-Habit, a design concept that proposes repurposing underutilized retail space into supportive transitional housing for the homeless.