SAY HELLO TO BEN AND ERIC. MCCULLOUGH LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE IS GROWING!

Ben received a Bachelor's in Architectural Studies from Connecticut College and has a Master's in Urban Design from the University of Miami School of Architecture. Serendipity played a part in Ben's future when moving from Florida to San Francisco. His car broke down here, and while waiting for auto repairs, Ben fell in love with our city. San Diego is a perfect place for Ben, the action sports capital. He loves to hike and snorkel, is an avid skateboarder and co-owner of a skateboard company with his best friend. Watch out! He's also a second--degree black belt. His outstanding capabilities include design development, quality control and document development for our clients' projects.

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Eric is a recent graduate from Cal Poly, Pomona with a B.S. in Landscape Architecture. He began his career as a lead landscape designer for a design/build construction company. Now with MLA, he will work towards his professional license as a landscape architect. Eric was born in Pennsylvania, and moved to Orange County where he went to high school. Presently, Eric is soon packing for a move to Mira Mesa with his fiancée, Wendy. Besides landscape architecture, Eric enjoys active hobbies that include working out at the gym, sports and hiking. His project involvement at MLA includes design development, client meetings and document development.

MLA & SNOWFLAKE BUILDING PARTICIPATES IN INTERNATIONAL PARK(ing) DAY

“If you blinked you may have missed it” is what CBS 8 reporter Larry Himmel said as he captured a few comments from people while shooting video of the Snowflake Bakery Building and Makers Quarter's parklet. The site was designed by many local neighboring businesses, including McCullough Landscape Architecture (MLA), for a worldwide celebration of “greening” cities, by turning metered parking spaces into mini-parks throughout downtown San Diego. This movement is called PARK(ing) Day and happens each year on the third Friday of the month.

Along with the succulent living walls and hanging planter boxes provided by MLA, food and fashion trucks and coffee served by a local roaster, plus interactive games, the parklet was enjoyed by many on a gorgeous sunny San Diego day. MLA was more than happy to be a participant in this growing international movement to make city locations more people friendly and enhance the urban environment.

Brilliant Landscape Design for Albert Einstein Charter Middle School

On Wednesday, August 27, we participated in Albert Einstein Academies' official ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the new Albert Einstein Charter Middle School campus. Formerly a hospital, the redesigned school is home to 6-8 grades and is one of the academies first authorized public charter schools with a K-8 International Baccalaureate continuum in San Diego. The facility is located on 26th Street in Grant Hill, just east of downtown.

The campus provides an environment for students to "thrive and learn to be active thinkers in our world." McCullough Landscape Architecture contributed to fulfilling the school's mission by designing the grounds around the campus giving students areas to study, play and interact with one another. "Throughout the site, design decisions supported the school's mission such as citrus trees around the exterior perimeter nurture community engagement, and native grasses and succulents used by indigenous people of San Diego provide educational dialogue with students," stated David.

The design team at McCullough Landscape Architecture has also designed a full campus master plan, including an outdoor classroom and international gardens, for Albert Einstein Academies Elementary School on Ash Street. The firm specializes in designing environments for both public and commercial projects. 

Click here to see more project photography for AEACMS as well as our entire portfolio.

Project Snap Shot

Client: Albert Einstein Academies

Architect: Studio E Architects

Contractor: Bycor General Contractors

Landscape Architect: McCullough Landscape Architecture

Branching Out with Horticultural Education

The McCullough Landscape Architecture team recently embarked on a field trip to the Village Nurseries Landscape Center in San Diego. It is so beneficial for us to observe how plants change and adapt to varying weather conditions. Our “hands-on” 3-D approach to the plant material gave us an accurate sense of scale as opposed to the 2-D research we do in books and online. Our staff members Cristina Soutowood and Shawna Bortolussi were surprised at the extensive number of species and color that the nursery has to offer.

One particular new perennial that caught Cristina’s eye was the Illumination Flame Digiplex (picture top left), a cultivated variety of the poisonous Digitalis or “Foxglove,” and Isoplexis. We can't wait for our next field trip and learn how we can enhance your new project!

A San Diego Centerpiece Revamped

McCullough Landscape Architecture is excited to join architecture firm gkkworks in “tackling” this historical centerpiece of San Diego!

Photo courtesy of the San Diego High School Alumni Association

The remodel of the historic San Diego High School stadium (SDHS) is still in its early planning stages. However, there is a buzz about the new and exciting changes to come. The school's stadium, formerly named Balboa Stadium, was home to the San Diego Chargers from 1961 to 1966. It has been through a lot of changes since it was demolished and rebuilt in the ‘70s. Currently, the stadium hosts the professional soccer team, the San Diego Boca FC, as well as many SDHS sporting events. The stadium's improvements up for discussion include a new press box, concessions and ticket booths, new restroom buildings and numerable site upgrades. Dugouts, bleachers and associated fencing are also included in the planning discussions.