In 1977, Plater-Zyberk co-founded the Miami firm Arquitectonica with her husband Andrés Duany, Bernardo Fort-Brescia, Laurinda Hope Spear, and Hervin Romney.

DPZ became a leader in the national movement called New Urbanism and distinguished itself by designing traditional towns and transforming existing suburbs into livable downtowns.

In 1988, she created a graduate program in Suburb and Town Design after which she continued to explore contemporary issues in city growth and reconstruction with students and faculty.

During her tenure on the Building Committee, the university hired architects such as Robert Venturi, Frank Gehry, and Demetri Porphyrios.

In 2001, she and Duany were awarded the Vincent Scully Prize by the National Building Museum in recognition of their contributions to the American built environment.