PROFILE

WHO WE ARE

RKLA Studio provides landscape architectural services for a diverse range of project types including public, cultural, historical, institutional, and private landscapes. In practice for over 30 years, our firm is built on the longstanding dynamic collaboration between principals Robin Key, Gareth Mahon, and Naomi Drucker. We create site specific designs that respect and enhance the social, cultural, and physical context of every site.

HOW WE WORK

We are keen listeners and nimble team players, proactive in our engagement with consultant collaborators, from allied design professionals to gardeners, artisans, and skilled tradespeople. We welcome and rely upon their expertise, employing a process that emphasizes design, horticulture, and craftsmanship along with a clear narrative that keeps everyone engaged. We are service oriented and skilled at clearly communicating our vision to individual clients, institutional staff, building management, and boards as well as public agencies and community stakeholders.

OUR APPROACH

We are guided by program, function, and purpose, and driven by people - the clients who inspire us and the seasoned and experienced professionals who bring our designs to life. We emphasize lasting, elegant solutions and the use of natural materials, and the purposeful selection of plant material that creates an identity and sense of place. The places and spaces we create are welcoming, well-used, and much-loved.

We are curious observers of how people use space, creating environments that relate to their greater context, the architecture, and our clients’ wishes. Our designs are innovative, making intelligent use of resources and plant material. We embrace robust environmental stewardship, are expert at planning for growth over time, and strive for memorable design experiences and outcomes.

THE VALUE WE BRING

The landscape should be well thought out, well executed, and meaningful in its own way while relating to the site’s greater context. Ideally it makes you aware of the world around you, the structures and spaces, plants, insects and animals, the sights, sounds, and smells. Our work emphasizes sustainability and maintainability and strives to involve all participants as collaborators, including the client or the visitor, alerting them to the value and inherent joy in stewardship of the landscape.

People

Michael Weber, RLA, ASLA

ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL

Michael’s passion for landscape is rooted in his childhood experiences in the Hudson Valley, the gardens of his grandparents, and the inspiration provided by travel. A passionate gardener, he is a member of the Garden Conservancy and the Cultural Landscape Foundation, two organizations that promote the importance of designed landscapes in the lives of individuals and society.

Prior to joining RKLA Studio, Michael was a Senior Associate and the Director of Landscape Design at Robert A.M. Stern Architects, LLP. Leading a team of landscape architects and designers, he oversaw the design, documentation, and construction of a variety of project types including private and multi-family residences, cultural and academic institutions, resorts, corporate campuses, and large-scale master plans. His portfolio of work includes projects across the United States and abroad, most recently in China and Hong Kong.

Michael received his Bachelor of Science degree in Management from Binghamton University and his Master of Landscape Architecture degree from Cornell University. He is a registered landscape architect in New York and Pennsylvania and a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects. From 2008 to 2013 Michael was a studio instructor in the landscape design program at Columbia University.

ROXANA M. DEMEL, RLA, ASLA, LEED

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT

Roxana received her Bachelor of Science degree in Landscape Architecture from Rutgers University in 2012 and shortly thereafter began her career at Stantec, where she gained extensive experience on a number of multidisciplinary public projects. Since joining RKLA Studio in March of 2015, Roxana has worked on numerous residential, institutional, and commercial projects of significance, including Park Francis in Jersey City, Serviam Heights in the Bronx, and St. Patrick Cathedral’s Memorial Fountain in Manhattan.

Prior to joining RKLA Studio, Roxana was a part of the Rutgers Praxis II design team which received an Award of Excellence for the “Parks for the People” Competition: a Student National Design Competition sponsored by the Van Alen Institute and The National Parks Service.

Roxana has a strong interest in sustainability and has earned a number of noteworthy certifications, including “Sustainable Building, Infrastructure Design and Management” as well as “Urban Green Infrastructure”, both from Pratt University. Roxana is a certified LEED Green Associate by G.B.C.I. and an ENVISION Sustainability Professional by I.S.I.

JOLIE LEUNG

SENIOR LANDSCAPE DESIGNER

Jolie graduated with a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, where she received an ASLA Student Award of Merit for her urban design-focused capstone project. She received her Master of Science in Data Analytics & Visualization at Pratt Institute’s School of Information to explore its applications in the field of landscape architecture beyond geo-spatial analysis. Here, she created projects that analyzed big data on climate change, developed data-related tools for practicing landscape architects and beyond, and continued research on New York City’s public spaces. Her capstone project, "Climate Change’s Effect on Tree Communities", involved geocoding and synthesizing several main tabular and raster datasets to investigate how climate change pressures across several metrics affect tree cover in the conterminous United States through 2060.

Prior to joining RKLA, Jolie worked as a landscape designer at Artemis Landscape Architects with a focus on residential design in the northeast region. There she gained a comprehensive understanding of the design process from schematic design through construction. She was part of the team for the Coastal Contemporary Landscape in Westport, Connecticut (CTASLA 2019 Honor Award), The Clearing: Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial (CTASLA 2024 Merit Award), and Creating Connections in Bedford, New York (CTASLA 2024 Honor Award). Through these projects, she developed her understanding of various northeast plant communities, mitigated and managed wetland flooding, and designed a wide range of custom details tailored to project conditions.

Nell Crumbley

LANDSCAPE DESIGNER

Originally from Northern Utah, Nell grew up surrounded by and loving the dramatic landscape of the Rocky Mountains. After moving to the East Coast for college and graduating in an unrelated field, Nell discovered landscape architecture through Olmstead’s parks in New York City. Nell spent two years pursuing her interest in horticulture as a professional gardener in the city and taking classes at the New York Botanic Garden before enrolling in Cornell University’s Landscape Architecture Master’s program.

During graduate school, Nell worked as a teaching assistant and had several diverse internships across the field of landscape architecture, including with RKLA Studio in summer 2019. After graduating from Cornell in 2020 with a concentration in art and climate adaptive design, Nell worked on public projects in New York City with Nancy Owens Studio before returning to work at RKLA Studio full time in January 2022. In her free time, Nell enjoys walking, caring for houseplants, reading, and chasing after her playful cat, Dax.

Jihong Kim

SENIOR LANDSCAPE DESIGNER

Jihong Kim is a landscape designer and licensed landscape architect in South Korea. Jihong holds a Master's degree in Landscape Architecture from the Spitzer School of Architecture at City College of New York, which she earned in 2013. Prior to that, she received her Bachelor's degree in Landscape Architecture from SangMyung University in South Korea in 2008.

Growing up in Seoul, a city full of concrete buildings, Jihong was fascinated by creating opportunities for people to better understand, appreciate, and connect with nature in our daily lives. She believes this is where landscape architecture can play a crucial role.

Before joining RKLA, Jihong worked as a landscape designer/project manager at Billi Cohen Landscape Design Studio for 4 years. During this time, Jihong honed her design skills and gained a deep understanding of designing residential and commercial roof terrace projects, multi-unit residential projects (including affordable and supportive housing) incorporating greenhouses and green roofs, as well as institutional projects. She is committed to implementing sustainable designs, ensuring that her designs minimize environmental impact.

COLLABORATORS

ARCHITECTS & DESIGNERS

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