MLA Design Studio

San Diego

Mesa College Student Service Center
San Diego
This LEED Certified Gold project tamed a very steep site with a terraced building envelope combined with a layered landscape design and a grand campus entry stairway. MLA has been recognized for this project with an 'Award of Merit' from the local ASLA and an 'Orchid Design Award' from the San Diego Architectural Foundation.
Photo: Bryan Wayne

Mesa College Student Service Center
San Diego
This LEED Certified Gold project tamed a very steep site with a terraced building envelope combined with a layered landscape design and a grand campus entry stairway. MLA has been recognized for this project with an 'Award of Merit' from the local ASLA and an 'Orchid Design Award' from the San Diego Architectural Foundation.
Photo: Bryan Wayne

Tijuana River Estuarine Amphitheater
Imperial Beach, Calif.

 
MLA successfully integrated a new amphitheater into an existing visitor center to provide a wonderful space for interpreting and viewing a critical bi-lateral estuary adjacent to the U.S. / Mexico border.

Private Residence
La Jolla, Calif.
Simple and elegant lines of the outdoor spaces complement well with the open design of this expressive La Jolla residence.

National Japanese-American Memorial
Washington, D.C.
This won the design competition honoring the patriotism of Japanese-Americans who were unjustly interned during World War II. Included within the design was a dedication to the 422nd/100th, a battalion comprised of Japanese-American soldiers that fought gallantly during the war and became one of the most decorated groups in US military history.

Rockhaven Ranch
El Cajon, Calif.
Numerous existing mature pepper trees were retained as well as incorporating 'wind rows' of trees to keep this custom residential development grounded with the region's agrarian history.

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Mesa College Student Service Center
San Diego
This LEED Certified Gold project tamed a very steep site with a terraced building envelope combined with a layered landscape design and a grand campus entry stairway. MLA has been recognized for this project with an 'Award of Merit' from the local ASLA and an 'Orchid Design Award' from the San Diego Architectural Foundation.
Photo: Bryan Wayne

2 / 6

Mesa College Student Service Center
San Diego
This LEED Certified Gold project tamed a very steep site with a terraced building envelope combined with a layered landscape design and a grand campus entry stairway. MLA has been recognized for this project with an 'Award of Merit' from the local ASLA and an 'Orchid Design Award' from the San Diego Architectural Foundation.
Photo: Bryan Wayne

3 / 6

Tijuana River Estuarine Amphitheater
Imperial Beach, Calif.
MLA successfully integrated a new amphitheater into an existing visitor center to provide a wonderful space for interpreting and viewing a critical bi-lateral estuary adjacent to the U.S. / Mexico border.

4 / 6

Private Residence
La Jolla, Calif.
Simple and elegant lines of the outdoor spaces complement well with the open design of this expressive La Jolla residence.

5 / 6

National Japanese-American Memorial
Washington, D.C.
This won the design competition honoring the patriotism of Japanese-Americans who were unjustly interned during World War II. Included within the design was a dedication to the 422nd/100th, a battalion comprised of Japanese-American soldiers that fought gallantly during the war and became one of the most decorated groups in US military history.

6 / 6

Rockhaven Ranch
El Cajon, Calif.
Numerous existing mature pepper trees were retained as well as incorporating 'wind rows' of trees to keep this custom residential development grounded with the region's agrarian history.

For the past three decades, founder Caroline Lee, ASLA, and partner Barney Matsumoto, have instilled into their firm, MLA Design Studio-Landscape Architects, the spirit of 'shibusa' - the aesthetics of simplicity and subtlety. Ingeniously adapting this spirit to a site, MLA creates places and spaces that fully satisfy the needs of their clients while enhancing the users' awareness and appreciation of the environment. MLA uses a team approach and enduring design principles to achieve excellence in landscape architecture, urban design, and regional planning.

As seen in LASN magazine, November 2019.

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