Mt. San Antonio College Business, Computer & Technology Buildings
Walnut, Calif.
These buildings house students in business, language arts, computer technology, fashion design and hospitality. The site has a 60' grade change making accessibility a challenge. The pedestrian circulation is made accessible through a series of bridges, an elevator and sloping walks. The outdoor spaces provide elements to support the adjacent indoor uses. The hospitality area has an outdoor dining area and small herb garden. The fashion area has an outdoor terrace with open views to the design projects underway. The computer and language labs have outdoor breakout areas for study and gatherings. The landscape reinforces the pedestrian circulation and nestles the building into the larger context of the campus. Poplar tree rows recall the agrarian past while palms denote key pedestrian routes. Shade trees provide refuge from the warm climate and groves of evergreen trees block undesirable views.

Mt. San Antonio College Business, Computer & Technology Buildings
Walnut, Calif.
These buildings house students in business, language arts, computer technology, fashion design and hospitality. The site has a 60' grade change making accessibility a challenge. The pedestrian circulation is made accessible through a series of bridges, an elevator and sloping walks. The outdoor spaces provide elements to support the adjacent indoor uses. The hospitality area has an outdoor dining area and small herb garden. The fashion area has an outdoor terrace with open views to the design projects underway. The computer and language labs have outdoor breakout areas for study and gatherings. The landscape reinforces the pedestrian circulation and nestles the building into the larger context of the campus. Poplar tree rows recall the agrarian past while palms denote key pedestrian routes. Shade trees provide refuge from the warm climate and groves of evergreen trees block undesirable views.

St. Margaret's Episcopal School
San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
RLA was the landscape architect for the expansion of this existing campus. The program called for a performing arts building, middle school and parking area expansion. The hardscape elements included pervious concrete pavers and plaster finish planter walls. The middle school courtyard has amphitheater style seating and a bosque of Chinese flame trees. A donor garden, outdoor play fields and shaded trellis area complete the additions to the campus. The trees include sycamore, oak and date palms. Groundcover and shrubs are in raised planters, drought tolerant and durable. RLA prepared a detailed tree inventory and evaluation to determine safety, health and water usage of the existing landscape.

SOCO - South Coast Collection
Costa Mesa, Calif.
This 20-acre home design shopping center suffered badly through the recession. RLA was a part of the design team tasked with revitalizing the center. The architecture was simplified and made more contemporary. The landscape design was restored to create outdoor spaces for hanging out, dining and shopping. The updated signage was incorporated into the landscape with a decomposed granite path and olive trees. This led to the renovated central plaza. The existing water element basin was simplified and features steel bowls with agave in rock. Concrete paving was replaced with decomposed granite. Varied seating with built in benches, movable tables and chairs and artist designed giant Adirondack chairs were added around a rusted steel fire bowl. Ornamental grasses and succulents break up the plaza into sub-spaces for gathering and dining. The shopping corridors were updated by applying a system of bamboo, vines and Asian pottery groupings along the store frontages. Over the last several years, we have designed the restaurant patios, trellises and vegetable garden surrounding the central plaza and main corridor. This has created an activated central hub for the center. The result is a varied, visually stimulating center with places to meet or hang out.