Tag Archives: community

Celebrating the Women of CJM::LA

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.

COURTNEY JANE MILLER

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 HORN

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 SHOTWELL

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 STRASSER

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.

Direct Relief Honored with Merit Award at the SOCAL ASLA Quality of Life Awards

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!

Celebrating Habitat for Humanity

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.

WLAM 2021 | Ecological Wellness

April is World Landscape Architecture Month, and CJM::LA is celebrating by highlighting a few recent projects that demonstrate our focus on wellness.  As the third in a three-part post, this week we’re highlighting recent projects that promote ecological wellness.

Two projects that demonstrate our focus on ECOLOGICAL WELLNESS include: the restoration of Alamo Pintado Creek as part of our Mattei’s Tavern project (currently in construction) and various seating and display features for the Ventura Botanic Gardens. The Ventura Botanic Gardens is a non-profit established in 2005 with a mission to “create and maintain public gardens for the preservation, education, cultural contribution & enhancement of the entire community.” The 100+ acre garden will exhibit and conserve plants from Earth’s five Mediterranean climate zones, which are all adapted to our local coastal region. The gardens use recycled water for irrigation and provide habitat for native animals, insects and birds.

Alamo Pintado Creek is a riparian corridor immediately west of the new Inn at Mattei’s Tavern. Our design team, along with True Nature and Watershed Environmental, developed a planting and irrigation plan to restore 5,000 s.f. of riparian woodland with indigenous species from local seed stock. Additionally, we’re planting over 25,000 s.f. of native shrubs and 50+ native trees within 50′ of the creek bank. The restoration area also includes a multi-modal public trail (for bikes, pedestrians and horses) and stormwater biofiltration basin.

WLAM 2021 | Physical Wellness

April is World Landscape Architecture Month, and CJM::LA is celebrating by highlighting a few recent projects that demonstrate our focus on wellness.  As the second in a three-part post, this week we’re highlighting recent projects that promote physical wellness.

Two projects that demonstrate our focus on PHYSICAL WELLNESS include: the Ocean Meadows residences, a collaboration with DesignARC (currently in the permit process); and the renovation of Cabrillo Ball Park (completed in 2018). Both designs include outdoor recreation amenities for individual and group activities. Upon completion, Ocean Meadows will provide pedestrian and bike trail connections to the North Campus Open Space, a restored and preserved coastal open space for public access and passive recreation. It will also feature natural play areas for children and a shared residential street. Cabrillo Ball Park was an existing public ball field to which CJM::LA, together with the City of Santa Barbara Parks & Recreation Department, added a circuit walking trail with exercise equipment, better lighting and biofiltration plantings to provide a sense of enclosure while maintaining important sight lines for public safety.

WLAM 2021 | Social Wellness

April is World Landscape Architecture Month, and CJM::LA is celebrating by highlighting a few recent projects that demonstrate our focus on wellness.

This year, our team has been getting outdoors and into nature, finding time to meditate and focusing on our individual health and well-being.  This inward focus has inspired us to define “wellness” within the practice of landscape architecture.  Wellness generally refers to the intentional pursuit of optimal health, which can be broken down into different categories: mental wellness, physical wellness, spiritual wellness, social wellness, financial wellness, etc.

At CJM::LA, we believe landscape architecture can enhance our cities and communities through the intentional pursuit of wellness:

Social wellness | We design community spaces for positive social interaction.
Physical wellness | We build safe environments for physical activity.
Ecological wellness | We conserve and restore ecological resources.

 

In a three-part post, we’ll highlight recent projects that promote social, physical and ecological wellness.

Two projects that demonstrate our focus on SOCIAL WELLNESS include: the Louise Lowry Davis Center renovation, a collaboration with Bildsten Architecture and Planning (currently under construction); and the Unity of Santa Barbara courtyard renovation, which was completed in 2020.  Both of these designs include beautiful expanded outdoor courtyards – the perfect locations for both community and private events.

SOMOfunk

MT_Slide_3-4

SOMOfunk

Santa Barbara, CA
In Progress


Project Type

Mixed Use

Client

Somo SB, LLC

Collaborators

Suzanne Elledge Planning & Permitting
RRM | Civil Engineering
Cearnal Collective | Architect

Lead Designers

Courtney Jane Miller
Nicole Horn

perspective renderings by CJM::LA
SF-OTB_06
SF-OTB_01A
SF-OTB_02r
SF-OTB_05
SF-OTB_04
SF-OTB_09
SF-OTB_10

OCEAN MEADOWS

MT_Slide_3-4

OCEAN MEADOWS

Goleta, CA
In Progress


Project Type

Single Family Residential

Client

Ocean Meadows Investors, LLC

Collaborators

Stantec | Civil Engineering
DesignARC Santa Barbara | Architect
AlfaTech | Lighting Design

Lead Designers

Courtney Jane Miller

perspective renderings by DesignARC
OM-OTB_6
OM-OTB_3
OM-OTB_1
OM-OTB_4
OM-OTB_7
OM-OTB_5
OM-OTB_8

What’s Happening at CJM::LA | January 2021

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.

Click here to join our mailing list!

CJM::LA + AIASB Design Charrette 2020

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

Watch the AIASB Design Charrette 2020 Presentation

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.

 

AIASB Design Charrette 2020 Design Team Presentations

For the past two months, over 150 volunteer architects, landscape architects, planners, civil engineers, designers, property owners and associated stakeholders have been hard at work developing a new vision for Santa Barbara’s downtown core.  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.

At 6 PM on Wednesday, October 21, 2020 each of the sixteen design teams will present their key recommendations and design concepts to the public via a zoom webinar.  All are welcome!  Please join Courtney, Mariella and the Santa Barbara community for this exciting event!

Click here to join the webinar!
Password: 937473