Ethen Wood
Faculty, School of Architecture
Ethen Founded Ethen Wood Designs in 2019. He is an architectural designer with almost 20 years of professional experience. He has worked on numerous award winning projects for Kuth Ranieri, Fougeron Architecture and Aidlin Darling Design. His previous work experience includes an array of project types including residential, restaurant, and cultural projects. Ethen has a deep interest in Modern architectural history, California Modernism, craft, and tectonic architectural expression. He has worked on several projects in the City & County of San Francisco. Recently completing the Balboa Park Pool Renovation, for Recreation and Parks Department as well as Suzhou Lion Mountain Park pavilions in China, residences in Marin, SonoGROTTO installation for the Market Street Design Festival and SFO International Airport’s employee cafe.
In addition to his design practice, Ethen is a Lecturer in Architectural Design at Stanford University since 2013, where he teaches design studios as well as courses on California Modernism and Japanese Modern Architecture. He recently won the Stanford Architectural Design Department’s Teaching Award in 2020. He has also taught numerous Graduate and Undergraduate design studios and Modern Architectural History courses at the Academy of Art University and University of San Francisco.
A native San Franciscan, Ethen grew up in the Sunset and the Richmond districts. He spent most of his childhood living in the Buddhist community of the San Francisco Zen Center and Tassajara Zen Monastery, in the Carmel Valley, as his parents were studying Zen Buddhism. Ethen resides in San Francisco’s Portola District with his wife, 6 year old son Bodhi and rescue pup Lucca.
Ethen is currently working on residential projects throughout the Bay Area. He is sought-after as a scholar of Bay Area Modern Architecture and Mid-Century Modernism. He brings this knowledge to all his projects to create timeless designs that highlight their history and place.
