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CSU San Marcos Clarke Field House Expansion

The Facts

LEED Rating: Silver Certified
Location: San Marcos, CA, USA
Size: 2.65 Acres
Partners: Gensler Architects
Client: CSU San Marcos
Budget: N/A
Completed: Under Construction

About the Project

landLAB with Gensler Architects was selected by CSU San Marcos for the expansion of the Clarke field house basketball arena. The main goal is to expand the basketball facility providing a collegiate atmosphere for students to engage in athletics and develop school pride will help define the spaces and further contribute to creating a strong campus identity. The proposed project features local native plant species in an effort to create a responsible, low water use landscape while promoting biodiversity. Per the Campus Master Plan, sloping landscape areas will be planted with a mix of coastal sage scrub understory and Mediterranean plant species. California Sycamores.


Site Plan

St. Bartholomew’s Catholic Church

The Facts

LEED Rating: Gold Certified
Location: Valley Center CA,USA
Size: 1.5 Acres
Partners: Kevin deFreitas Architects
Client: Withheld
Budget: $3.1 Million
Completed: 2010

About the Project

landLAB collaborated with Kevin deFreitas Architects on Saint Bartholomew’s Chapel to replace the historic chapel that tragically burned to the ground in the 2007 Poomahca & Witch Fire’s. The Chapel is located on the Rincon Band of Luiseno Indian’s Reservation, which is situated in a hot, dry valley of North San Diego County; as such the new landscape design reflects the necessity of low-water use, succulent and predominantly California native plant landscape with a buffer of fire-resistant plant species. In addition the landscape is comprised of traditional ceremonial and artisanal plants of the Rincon people combined with Mediterranean-type, historical plants as found in the bible. The new design more than doubles the occupancy, available parking, ADA access and amenities, but still retains the history, character and beauty of the original, much beloved Chapel.

Site Plan

UCLA South Campus Student Center

The Facts

Awards: ASLA SD Merit Award 2012
LEED Rating: Gold certified
Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Size: 1 Acre
Partners: Safdie Rabines Architects
Client: UCLA
Client: $10.5 Million
Completed: 2012

About the Project

landLAB collaborated with Safdie Rabines Architects on the new South Campus Student Center located in the historic Court of Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles. The new facility was be constructed into the existing sloped portion of the court, allowing the roof structure above the interior dining area to act as a garden roof terrace and look out, with a series of vegetated green roofs over the kitchens. The planting design for the green roofs and surrounding landscape are vignettes of California landscapes, which provide educational opportunities for the adjacent life sciences facilities surrounding the project. The lower dining terraces are sunken from the surrounding walkways and existing buildings that form the Court of Sciences, creating both intimate and public spaces for students and faculty to enjoy the beautiful southern California climate. The project was awarded a SDASLA merit award in 2012 and received LEED GOLD accreditation from the USGBC.

Site Plan

The Rain Catcher

The Facts

Location: Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Size: 400 Sq M
Partners: Noel Harding Studio
Client: City of Burnaby
Budget: N/A
Completed: 2012

About the Project

A celebration of an intimate relationship with Nature. A vessel… a watering vase… inviting notions of nurture. The vase holds stems identifying the personal character of composing flowers or branches. The vessel’s metal at its base creases as if being the human action of stepping forward or a subtle reminder of a rain boot. There is whimsy and play associated. Branches reach upward holding wings, abstracted leaves collecting rain. A mesh of reflecting metal suggests a tree canopy of foliage or a cloud in the sky. Climbing vines trace and grow with mesh being a trellis for vines to extend. A rainy day spouts water falling into the planter below. A sunny day gives a glint to a trickle of water on the surface of the steel. The scheduled cycle of plant irrigation creates a parallel display of water dripping from the spout. At the base there is a transition of plantings as the sculpture saturates surrounding soil. The

Structure Hydrology

Structure Materials

Mimico Creek

The Facts

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Size: 65 Sq. M
Partners: Noel Harding Studio
Client: City of Toronto
Budget: N/A
Completed: Under Construction

About the Project

The Mimico Creek project is a public art project in collaboration with artist Noel Harding in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The main concept of the project is to interpret and display a sense of local “folklore,” the wilderness “not discovered” of Mimico Creek, its ecology, flora and fauna in the form of visual story telling. The “book” form of the piece not only tells the story of the landscape, but it also takes part of its story as it interacts and changes hour by hour each day, season by season in the year. Attention to detail in the materials proposed for the project help establish mimicry, a reflection of the surroundings, durability and sustainability. The paving pattern follow the flow and form of the creek that “runs through it” while the planting reveals the riparian ecology of the creek. The team was the winner of # teams short-listed for this project.

180 Kent Street Public Art ‘North Shore’

The Facts

Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Size: 40 Sq M
Partners: Noel Harding Studio
Client: Minto
Budget: N/A
Completed: 2010

About the Project

Artist Noel Harding and landLAB were selected as the winning team for a public art commission at 180 Kent Street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada for the private developer Minto. The work, as titled, points outside itself – being a city mind dreaming of the woods. The silhouettes of plantings imagine, identify, and celebrate a symbolic character of the Canadian Wilderness that resonates in a quintessential relation as if holding the reality of Tom Thompson’s “The Jack Pine.” Plant material becomes more than simply landscape as they pay homage to nature itself; celebrated within a grand vessel. Reflective steel becomes the giant trunk of a fallen tree with an extruded branch, renewal in the reality of living trees and grasses protruding – turning (1RPM) in the physical illustration of time. NORTHSHORE is a confirming statement. The meanings are rich in evolution and layering yet succinct and pointed in symbol.

Design Scheme

Dawes Crossing

The Facts

Location: Toronto, Ontario,Canada
Size: 1000 Sq M
Partners: Noel Harding Studio
Client: ?
Budget: N/A
Completed: 2013

About the Project

The structure silhouette is reminiscent of Toronto’s agricultural past while the oak beam structure is iconic to Canada’s bountiful resources. A symbol of community resonance, the installation is identified and linked to it’s cultural ‘past’ thereby enabling community to evolve identity as the perceivable sense of having a ‘location’ of reference. Located on a trade route of significance, ‘Dawes Crossing’ is titled in a parallel evocation as integrating community enabling objectives. As a transit point the site moves the people into it and often to wait and sit. The site as harvesting sun and wind to provide income. Income provides community with resources to seed a vision. Establishing place as framework allows completion as community amplitude. The sculpture provides free wireless Internet access. AC outlets are accessible. Lighting can be programmed. Events can be staged. A plaza for markets and kiosks can appear. A lawn and audience space allows music evenings or community festival.


Site Plan

Solar Energy

Wind Energy

Water Collection

Sanya Lihe Resort Hotel

The Facts

Location: Hainan Island, China
Size: 24000 Sq M
Partners: Mco. Architects
Client: Withheld
Budget: N/A
Completed: Under Construction

About the Project

landLAB collaborated with Myklebust Company on the Sanya Lihe Resort Hotel, one of the first projects to be built in the new High Tech Business Park on Yazhou Bay on the west coast of Hainan Island, China. The new resort hotel was carefully sited to take advantage of ocean views and access to the beach and adjacent greenway. The modern hotel features a large landscaped pool and associated outdoor amenities including outdoor spa, swim-up bar, children’s pool and lush tropical plantings on the level 3 podium to take advantage of solar access and off site views. The ground level accommodates two drop-offs for hotel and for the conference centers, numerous outdoor dining terraces, sunken gardens and water features. At the heart of the building is a large atrium garden, adjacent to the main hotel lobby. This atrium garden is open to the sky above and to users below from the level 3 pool deck. The atrium has two key features: providing natural light and fresh air to the interior core of the building while also providing functional waiting area and lounge space for hotel guests

Roof Deck Plan

6th Level Plan

Ground Level Plan

The Sanya Lihe International Center Hotel

The Facts

Location: Hainan Island, China
Size: 22000 Sq M
Partners: Mco. Architects
Client: Withheld
Budget: N/A
Completed: Under Construction

About the Project

landLAB collaborated with Myklebust Company on The Sanya Lihe International Center 5 star  Hotel and residential tower that was designed to  bring together a market tailored program mix of retail, restaurants and entertainment to offer a collection of venues unique to the properties in the Sanya Resort region. The organization of the site planning has been conceived to unify an existing structure with the new buildings into a singular resort experience centered on a new grand pool area. The hotel and suite towers will offer nearly unobstructed views to Sanya Bay from the guestrooms and will have separate drop-off and lobby entry areas on the north and east sides of the site. A retail passage with street frontage will feature life-style related shops, regional and international cuisine, a spa and TV. A new ballroom will expand the area for special events or conventions.


Site Plan

COEX Shopping & Lifestyle Complex

The Facts

Location: Seoul, South Korea
Size: 16000 Sq M
Partners: Gensler Architects
Client: Coex
Client: N/A
Completed: Under Construction

About the Project

landLAB collaborated with Gensler on the COEX Convention and Exhibition Center project. COEX is a major urban node, linked to the subway system, and includes approximately 1 million SF of subterranean retail space. A centralized landscape area connects the retail spaces below through a large atrium. Retail areas are accessed both at street level and through sunken gardens, connecting the mall with adjacent subway stations and public transportation lines. Throughout the mall, the sleek geometry of the architecture is mimicked by terraced outdoor seating and dining spaces, accented with flowering trees and inviting, attractive planting areas. An extensive streetscape park connects the seasonal gardens to a new outdoor plaza and new entries to the mall, featuring multiple landscape amenities such as green roofs, event plazas, gardens and water features, grass mounds, and a large reflecting pool that doubles as an ice skating rink in the winter. Throughout the park landscape, custom hardscape features and public art installations are integrated to enhance the pedestrian experience and create a connection to cultural values of the region.

Site Plan

Central Plaza Plan Enlargement

Kepco Plaza Plan Enlargement

Millennium Plaza Plan Enlargement