People
Joo Oh
Design Director
Joo Oh
Design Director
A go-to design leader for global organizations, Joo creates forward-thinking corporate headquarters for premier financial services and technology clients such as Hana Bank, Samsung, Tencent and Kakao. He brings his empathetic design vision to each project, pairing innovation, beauty and performance to create transformative experiences. Focused on enhancing wellness and meaningful connections across every building he designs, he also translates his unique workplace insights to healthcare design. This includes projects such as the nature-infused Montage Health Ohana Center for Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health in California, that rethinks the behavioral health environment for kids.
Prioritizing flexibility, close communication and a cross-cultural sensitivity, Joo believes an open dialogue between clients and designers leads to strong ideas and impactful design outcomes. As a result, his designs have been extensively featured in top global media outlets, from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, BBC, Bloomberg, Fast Company and Los Angeles Times to Interior Design magazine, Dezeen, ArchDaily and FRAME magazine. Joo’s work is also spotlighted in major Korean publications including Korea Herald, Chosun Ilbo, Korea Times, Business Korea and Incheon Korea. In addition, his projects also regularly win leading awards from organizations such as AIA National and local chapters, TIME, MIPIM Asia, Interior Design and FRAME.
A champion of the next generation of designers, Joo extends his architectural expertise outside of NBBJ, bringing his decades of insights to mentor student designers as a lecturer for Korean University and IFEZ in South Korea.