Mission
We currently emphasize developing thoughtful, innovative and cost-effective educational facilities for public, private and charter school organizations throughout Southern California. We have completed 20+ charter school projects ranging from tenant improvement to ground-up construction. We also have experience in commercial, residential and mixed-use projects.
History
Franco Architects Inc. was established by owners of Rafael Franco & Associates, Inc. which was originally founded by Rafael Franco in 1981 and located in Studio City since 1996. Throughout much of the 1980s, Franco & Associates specialized in corporate data centers for a variety of financial and commercial institutions including Bank of America, Great Western, and CalFed. Throughout the 1990s, the firm continued servicing large corporate clients including Countrywide and Citibank to create data centers, processing facilities, call centers, trading floors, and corporate offices for their thriving campuses.
After the 1994 Northridge earthquake, Franco began assisting the Los Angeles Unified School District in retrofitting many of their existing facilities with seismic and ADA upgrades. Franco also facilitated the placement of modular classrooms on numerous LAUSD campuses. Since then, Franco has been involved in the design and construction of over 20 charter schools and completed feasibility and programming studies for countless other prospective charter school organizations.
The same team that has carried Franco & Associates for over 20 years continues as Franco Architects Inc. to pursue Rafael's vision and passion of planning, designing and building schools for various private and charter organizations all throughout California. Franco Architects Inc. is now headed by seasoned architect Johann D. Wang.
Our Team
Franco Architects at the Kipp East LA groundbreaking ceremony in 2014.
Johann D. Wang
President & AIA Principal
B.S. Architecture, TsingHua University, Beijing, China
M.Arch, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
Johann has over 25 years of experience in architectural planning, design, and project management. Having worked abroad in Shenzhen, China as a VP for AECOM, he has extensive experience in designing large scale projects ranging from mixed-use commercial/high end residential projects to timeshare developments. His early experiences at Langdon Wilson, Jerde, and Pierluigi Bonvinci Architects have also shaped his expertise as a professional architect. He is currently the president and head architect of Franco Architects.
Stephanie Liu
Design Principal
B.S.Arch, TsingHua University, Beijing, China
M.Arch, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
Stephanie is the firm's lead architectural design principal and has conducted numerous commercial and educational projects during her 25+ tenure at Franco. In 2013 she became a partial owner of Rafael Franco & Associates Inc. and established Franco Architects Inc. with Etmny Arias-Cornejo. Stephanie is in charge of the architectural design process for all projects at Franco Architects. Her knowledge of the current code and valuable problem-solving skills also allow the firm to bring value and cost savings to our clients.
Etmny Arias-Cornejo
Principal and CFO
B.Arch, Andrews University
Etmny has been a key personnel at Franco for almost 15 years. In that time she has managed numerous charter schools, private schools and various T.I. projects. In 2013 she became a partial owner of Rafael Franco & Associates Inc. and established Franco Architects with Stephanie Liu. Etmny now manages the firm's finances and has obtained new project contracts for the company. She has noteworthy permitting experience with the City and County of Los Angeles.