DMARCstudio
Founded in 2014, DMARCstudio is an architecture and design practice with offices in Berkeley and Santa Cruz, California. Our portfolio spans residential, commercial, and hospitality work—reflecting our belief that versatility fosters creativity. We collaborate with clients ranging from individual homeowners to restaurateurs to large-scale developers, bringing expansive thinking to intimate projects and focused attention to complex ones.
With a background in fabrication and deep technical fluency, our team brings a hands-on understanding of how things are made. This perspective allows us to design buildings that are not only visually compelling but also buildable, durable, and precise. We continuously explore new tools and materials, educate our clients along the way, and push the limits of what architectural design can accomplish.
Leadership
To do the work we do requires a team with diverse talents garnered from a diverse set of project experience.
Every project is lead by a Principal Architect and incorporates the collaboration of our team of talented designers and architects
Zac Maddry
Principal, Design Director
Zac Maddry has practiced architecture for over 25 years, leading projects ranging from urban design and convention centers to bespoke interiors and custom lighting. His work has received numerous awards and been widely published. A licensed architect in California and Wyoming, Zac has worked out of the San Francisco Bay Area for the past 21 years. He brings deep experience in construction, custom fabrication, and digital design to each project. He values working closely with clients to ensure every design reflects their goals and values.
Zac earned his Bachelor of Architecture with distinction from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He was born in San Diego and grew up surfing and rock climbing in the surrounding beaches and deserts—an early connection to place and landscape that continues to inform his work today.
Nick McCracken
Principal, Director of Operations
Nick McCracken is an architect with over 15 years of experience leading housing, hospitality, and mixed-use projects, often in complex urban contexts. His work blends creativity with technical precision, shaped by a strong understanding of construction, policy, and long-term impact.
Nick brings a background in fabrication and large-scale public art, adding a hands-on, material-driven sensibility to his design approach. He is especially interested in the intersection of architecture and development—aligning design vision with real-world constraints to create thoughtful, inclusive places.
Our Approach
We approach each project as a unique problem to solve—not with a predetermined style, but with a process rooted in inquiry, collaboration, and clarity. Our work is conceptually driven and grounded in practical experience, shaped by an understanding of construction and a respect for context. We look to local building languages as a starting point—not to replicate, but to reinterpret—creating architecture that feels both grounded and original.
We strive to create spaces that move naturally—places where materials, light, and layout work in quiet harmony. Through a collaborative and thoughtful process, we design buildings that add lasting value and connect people more deeply to their environments.
