— About ZALAZ
A studio built on curiosity, sustainability and the belief that great design should improve people's lives.
The Bondi office - inq. Digital Zambia, Lusaka
ZALAZ is a premium human experience company. We design spaces, systems and experiences that help people live, work and connect better.
Founded in 2019 in Lusaka and now working across Zambia, South Africa and beyond, ZALAZ has grown from an interior design studio into a multidisciplinary practice. Our work sits at the intersection of design, sustainability, innovation and human-centred thinking.
We shape workplaces and homes, hospitality destinations and retail environments, digital experiences and physical products. We convene communities. We publish. We prototype. What ties it together is a single belief: that thoughtful design — of any kind — is one of the most powerful tools we have to improve everyday life.
Rooted in Zambia and Africa, our perspective is global. We collaborate with clients, craftspeople, technologists and researchers to design environments and products that are calm, intelligent, sustainable and quietly ambitious.
— From the founder
"I believe design is one of the most powerful tools we have to improve everyday life. Through sustainable interiors, experience architecture, innovation and intentional communities, my mission is to create environments that help people live, work, connect and thrive."
Muzala MJ Mtchotsa — Founder | Experience Architect | Interior Designer
— Our disciplines
One practice. Many ways of shaping everyday life.
- Interior Design
- Workplace Strategy
- Project Management
- Hospitality Design
- Residential Design
- Retail Design
- Sustainable Design
- Workplace Wellness
- Experience Design
- Experience Portal™
- Product Innovation
- Community Building
— Why clients work with us
Multidisciplinary
Design, strategy, sustainability and innovation held under one roof.
Considered
A calm, honest process — clearly scoped, openly tracked, present on site.
Human-centred
Every project begins with the people who will use it, not the deliverable.
Locally rooted
Zambian craft and African context, executed to a global standard.
— Our values
What we hold to, on every project.
People before plans
The brief begins with who will use the space, and how we want them to feel leaving it.
Honesty in material
Nothing pretends to be something else. We specify what we would live with ourselves.
Care for the long term
We design for a decade of daily use, not for a launch photograph.
Clarity over cleverness
Clear scope, clear cost, clear programme. No surprises dressed up as design.
Craft, locally
Zambian and Southern African makers, briefed properly and paid fairly.
Curiosity
We keep researching, prototyping and publishing — because standing still is a design decision too.
— Our design process
A calm, evidence-led sequence — from first question to final styling.
01
Discover
We listen to leadership and to the people on the floor, and observe how the space is actually used today.
02
Strategy
Findings become a brief: adjacencies, behaviours, sustainability targets and the commercial outcome.
03
Design
Concept, spatial planning, material and lighting strategy — tested in 3D before anything is committed.
04
Deliver
Documentation, procurement, contractor coordination and on-site presence, held to programme and budget.
05
Live
Handover, styling and a post-occupancy conversation to check the space is doing what we promised.
— Why sustainability matters
The most sustainable room is the one that lasts.
In our region, design decisions carry weight — embodied carbon in imported furniture, energy demand in badly daylit floorplates, waste from fit-outs replaced every five years. We treat those as design problems, not compliance line items.
That means specifying for durability and repair, favouring local makers and materials, designing for daylight and ventilation before mechanical systems, and building circularity into how a space is eventually changed rather than demolished.
Explore Sustainable Design →— Meet the team
A small, senior team — the people you meet are the people who do the work.
Design, strategy, sustainability and project delivery sit under one roof, led personally by our founder and project director. No hand-offs to a team you've never met.
Meet the people behind ZALAZ →— An invitation
What are you imagining?
Whether you're reimagining your home, creating a new workplace, opening a hospitality destination, developing a brand experience or simply exploring what's possible, we'd love to hear what you're imagining.