CHA:COL, the CH+A Collective is an AIA award-winning architectural practice championing design in every space.
Our creative work ranges from custom residential design to inventive workplaces, unorthodox retail spaces, as well as complex, exciting commercial projects.
As a full-service architectural firm, we work at many scales:
Experimental
Our company’s story began in 2006 when husband-and-wife principal duo Chinmaya Misra (CH) + Apurva Pande (A) launched CHA:COL as a collaborative design start-up to rousing success with inventive residential and commercial projects. Over the years, the firm expanded with a tightly knit staff into retail and workplace design. We have been humbled with design awards and extensive press coverage in prestigious international publications.
CHA:COL is considered a leading design expert on issues of hillside terrain, live-work infill in large metropolitan areas and educational design. Speaking engagements include the prestigious Dwell on Design Expo.
Both principals regularly serve as design faculty at UCLA Extension and in the past, at Woodbury University. They are also co-founders and board members of an elementary charter school in downtown Los Angeles, Metro Charter, widely regarded as a history creating grassroots community institution.
Awards, Achievements, & Recognition
CHA:COL has been profiled extensively with architectural work featured in Dwell, LA Times, New York Times, Architectural Record, Alarm Press, DAMDI, Inside-Outside, Modern Home, California Home & Design, in addition to ArchDaily, Dezeen and HGTV. Our work regularly features in Alumni Exhibition showcases at SCI_Arc and UCLA.
WHO WE ARE
Apurva Pande | Architect
Principal
Apurva is a licensed architect in California (C-33657) and in India. He has significant experience with international projects at diverse scales. He has led a roster of work in institutional, commercial and custom residental practice areas.
Prior to co-founding the firm, he worked as a designer at the offices of Gehry Partners, working on international museums and cultural projects. He has worked with two Pritzker Prize winning architects, Frank Gehry and BV Doshi.
He serves as design faculty at UCLA Extension. He is also a co-founding Board member of a widely-recognized charter school, Metro Charter Elementary School in Downtown Los Angeles.
“Design is at the root of everything we do. The practice is founded on the core belief that architecture is a way of life.”
Claudia Barbazza
Design Director
With dual master’s degrees cum laude in Interior Architecture from Politecnico di Milano and the Cal Poly Pomona + UCLA program in Los Angeles, Claudia has cultivated a distinctive aesthetic and approach that she infuses into every design project.
Currently based in Milan, her focus revolves around the intricate interplay between architecture, interior design, social trends, and mindful living. Over the past decade, she has had the privilege of contributing to the success of internationally acclaimed architectural firms based in Milan, Los Angeles, and London. Throughout this journey, she has played a pivotal role in crafting award-winning interior design projects that span the spectrum from creative lofts to luxury private residences and cutting-edge workplaces.
Chinmaya Misra
Principal
Chinmaya brings over fifteen years of design leadership with extensive experience in large mixed-use, retail and workplace practice areas, both as Senior Associate at the Jerde Partnership and as a Workplace and Mixed-use Design Leader at Gensler.
Her practice experience in mixed-use projects ranges from California to Japan, Europe and the Mediterranean regions. She also has an interior furnishings company that she co-founded to meet the need of clients who need their spaces staged, styled and furnished.
She serves as design faculty at UCLA Extension and is a co-founding Board member of a widely-recognized charter school, Metro Charter Elementary School in Downtown Los Angeles.
“We believe in the collective power of design : where individual thoughts, ideas and stories come together to create a unified architectural vision that inspires people and transforms spaces.”
Safiyeh Samii
Designer
Safiyeh is an interior designer from New York. She holds a Masters Degree in Interior Architecture from UCLA x Cal Poly Pomona and Bachelors Degree in Finance and International Business from Georgetown University. Safiyeh’s design experience includes work for principal architects and hospitality business founders on high-end residential homes and commercial projects including hotels, restaurants, cultural centers and art galleries. She is drawn to entrepreneurial, collaborative environments where she is able to take on a fluid role to meet the evolving needs of each project.
Prior to receiving her graduate degree Safiyeh worked for 10+ years in business development, sales and marketing. In those roles she managed new business opportunities and worked with owners to build and expand hospitality operations. She led sales, marketing and events efforts in-house and at agencies for financial institutions, luxury residential real estate firms, boutique hotels and restaurants.
Grant Nunnelee | Architect
Projects Director
Grant is a licensed California architect with over ten years of experience in design. He began his architecture career working at PLP Architecture in London while enrolled in the Architecture program at Rice University.
He returned home to Southern California after his time in Houston and abroad to work in a startup design firm specializing in single-family residential projects around Los Angeles. From there, Grant worked at Kovac Design Studio, honing his design skills while focusing on primarily high-end residential architecture.
Grant then worked at AB Design Studio’s Los Angeles office as a Project Manager on several hotel projects located in Santa Barbara County. His time at these offices gave him invaluable experience in the intricate entitlements processes of the region.
In 2024, Grant became a licensed architect in the state of California and joined the CHA:COL team as Projects Director.
Calvin Ma
Designer
Calvin is an interior designer with a number of years working with several studios and designers in both residential and retail spaces, from which he’s developed a fondness for working with details and fabrication. Quality and unique experiences are prominent aspirations for his design processes in addition to sustainable building practices. He is currently finishing his Masters Degree in Interior Architecture to establish deeply-rooted design principles while keeping an eye on global design trends.