On Saturday we celebrated our TEN YEARS in business at the SB Botanic Garden‘s annual Beer Garden event. It was a beautiful day at the garden – with a full creek, California poppies in full bloom and incredible food, drinks and music throughout the garden. If you are ever in Santa Barbara for this event, it’s not to be missed!
Courtney, Jianhua, Christina, Janet, Arturo
This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating all of the women of CJM::LA – both past and present. In the past ten years, we’ve had the privilege to work alongside such incredible team members – both within our design studio and within our expanded community of vendors, suppliers, collaborators, contractors and clients.
As a certified woman-owned small business, we are proud to have women leading both our ownership and operations, bringing insight and creativity to our growing team.
As the principal landscape architect and owner of CJM::LA, Courtney has led our creative team for ten years. She combines the the thoughtfulness of a technical mind with the creativity of an artistic one, and loves to dig into the history the properties she designs as well as push the boundary of the expected. Along with Nicole Horn, Courtney leads the creative vision for CJM::LA.
Nicole joined CJM::LA in 2016, and has brought expertise in urban planning, resource management and landscape architectural design to the CJM::LA team. As associate principal and director of operations, she promotes transparency and collaboration across all aspects of our work. Nicole pushes herself and others to take risks, innovate and surpass conventional design roles and traditions.
Janet joined CJM::LA 2014 as office manager and bookeeper. She loves to make connections within our community while also keeping all aspects of our studio running smoothly. Janet holds degrees in Historic Preservation and Architectural Technology, and brings this knowledge base to her work at CJM::LA. She is the glue that holds us together!
Aiko recently joined CJM::LA as a project manager, and brings experience in mixed-use, hospitality and institutional projects to her role as part of the production team. She believes in a whole-systems approach to design with a focus on social, economic and environmental equity.
Jianhua, Janet, Courtney, Arturo, Aiko, Nicole, Cameron
Sending peace and abundance for 2023. Happy New Year from our family to yours!
We are thrilled to announce that our team was recognized by the Santa Barbara Beautiful organization for three outstanding properties at the 2022 Santa Barbara Shines! awards ceremony.
This project transformed an existing lawn at the front of a historic mid-century modern church building into an inviting courtyard and entry garden. Designated as a Structure of Merit by the City of Santa Barbara Historic Landmarks Commission, the existing building was constructed in 1958 in the mid-century modern style. Our team designed the courtyard and gardens to complement the architectural design of the building and pay homage to the mid-century era, while addressing the functional needs of the Unity organization.
This mixed-use infill housing project in the downtown core of Santa Barbara transformed an existing asphalt parking lot into a new multi-story development including 26 apartments and ground-floor commercial office space. Our team designed a community courtyard in the space between the new building and the existing historic Louisa Ygnacio House to accommodate residents of the new apartments as well as employees and guests of to the commercial offices on the ground floor. The decomposed granite, native California plants and Santa Barbara sandstone elements were selected to compliment the design language of the nearby Santa Barbara Historical Museum.
Together with the City of Santa Barbara Parks & Recreation Department, the CJM::LA team renovated an existing ball field on the Santa Barbara waterfront to address improved community programming, stormwater management and circulation. A circuit walking trail with exercise equipment, better lighting and biofiltration plantings provide a sense of enclosure while maintaining important sight lines for public safety.
The ArchitecTours is back in person this year, and we are excited to have two of our recent projects featured on the tour! Hosted by the AIASB, the theme of this year’s tour is “Celebrate Santa Barbara.”
From the AIASB: The projects on the tour this year include several unique residences; a contemporary cliffside home on The Mesa, a renovated modern farmhouse in Downtown Santa Barbara and two homes in Montecito that share a strong relationship with their natural surroundings. Also, on the tour are several historic building renovations including the former Hollister Family Office building and adobe. Additionally, tour goers will also have the chance to visit two new multi-family housing buildings downtown that offer a range of unit sizes and amenities.
The tour will be held Saturday October 1st from 10am – 4pm and will culminate with a festive party.
To purchase tickets, click here.
We hope to see you there!
We are honored to announce that our Direct Relief Headquarters project has been recognized by the Southern California Chapter of the ASLA with a Merit Award in the General Design category at the 2021 Quality of Life Awards! This year’s theme, “growing importance of the outdoors” celebrates outdoor space as a crucial part of our existence.
A collaboration with DMHA, the design of this new campus brought forward the concept of healing as a reference to our client’s mission as well as the ecological context of the site.
Led by Nicole Horn, this project has been recognized by multiple architectural, engineering and green building organizations for it’s exemplary design. Congratulations Nicole!
This Saturday, May 22 Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County is honoring individuals and organizations that provided exemplary support and partnership over the past 20 years at their Habitat Homecoming Virtual Gala. We are proud to be one of those partners, having helped design and build both the 12-unit Canon Perdido Affordable Homes project in Santa Barbara in 2014, as well as the 3-unit Sawyer Avenue Affordable Homes project in Carpinteria in 2019. Both projects were realized in collaboration with DMHA Architecture.
Sawyer Avenue Affordable Homes, rendering by Ryan Mills | DMHA Architecture
At CJM::LA, we believe strongly in the need for equitable housing policies and affordable housing for all. We are honored to partner with such an incredible organization to help families build and improve a place to call home. The Canon Perdido Homes project accommodates housing for 44 people and 22 children, and the Sawyer Avenue Homes project accommodates housing for 14 people and 8 children.
Click here to purchase gala tickets, or here to make a donation.
We are pleased to announce that Courtney Jane Miller is now licensed in the state of Arizona!
We are now accepting new projects in Sedona, Phoenix and the surrounding areas.
This month we are focused on how to bring people in closer connection to their natural environment.
Our newsletter features the newly opened Mar Monte Hotel, progress on our Mattei’s Tavern renovation, and our volunteerism efforts in the Santa Barbara community.
Quail Ridge Residence | Solvang, CA | Completed 2019
As we kick off the new year, the CJM::LA team is looking forward to longer days, new opportunities for innovation, and developing stronger relationships within our professional community. We remain deeply committed to our work as landscape architects and creatives; and are optimistic for a prosperous new year!
Happy New Year from our family to yours!
At CJM::LA we seek out opportunities to create positive change in our community. The 2020 Design Charrette organized by the Santa Barbara Chapter of the American Institute of Architects aimed to Reinvigorate, Reinvent, Reimagine, and Repurpose our downtown with housing, energy, and life. Both Courtney and Mariella from our office joined the charrette to work with local architects, planners, designers, students, citizens and professionals to develop a new vision for the design of our downtown core to lead us into the next 100 years.
Courtney collaborated with team B whose focus was on the downtown open spaces including the state street promenade, parks and plazas. Here are highlights of team B’s presentation of a new shared pedestrian promenade integrating stadium seating, stormwater, outdoor dining and public art.
Courtney’s words chosen to inspire a lively promenade and community
Courtney’s plan and elevation of what a complete street in Santa Barbara could look like
Mariella collaborated with team 6A whose area of focus were the blocks between Figueroa, Carrillo, Anacapa and Chapala streets; encompassing the transit center, local eateries, banks and other essential infrastructure to our downtown core. Here are some of their design ideas that revitalize the transit center; integrating bus, bicycle and ride share, adding housing, retail spaces and open space to form a highly functioning and invigorating entrance to downtown Santa Barbara.
in person collaborative sketching with Dee Carawan and Tai Yeh
a quick sketch of Mariella’s used in the virtual design collaboration process
Dee Carawan’s final drawing of the transit center block
Thank you to all of our team members and to everyone who helped participate and organize this historical collaborative effort. You can watch the full recording of the design team presentations here. The AIASB
The Santa Barbara Chapter of the American Institute of Architects put together the 2020 Design Charrette to Reinvigorate, Reinvent, Reimagine, and Repurpose our Downtown with housing, energy, and life. On Wednesday, each of the sixteen design teams presented their key recommendations and design concepts to the public via a zoom webinar. You can watch the recording of the design team presentations here.