In 1991, Judy Kameon purchased an empty lot next to her small bungalow with the sole intention of making a garden. Five years into the project, what started as a personal adventure had become a professional vocation and Elysian Landscapes was launched. Kameon’s initial focus on residential design/build work quickly blossomed into significant commercial commissions, including highly imaginative landscapes for the Parker in Palm Springs and Balenciaga.
Architect Dana Bauer joined the firm in 2012 in a leadership role conceptualizing new models for the urban landscape in emerging neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Our growth and range are reflected in the diversity of our projects as well as our team – we are artists, designers, contractors, architects and horticulturalists, collectively committed to honing a finely detailed and hands-on approach to making projects at every scale.
We envision landscape as the medium of the contemporary city, and our work, across hundreds of private and public commissions, as one continuous habitat for the city of Los Angeles.
The careful study of pre-existing natural systems and robust experimentation refining humble construction methods enables us to push the limits of what is possible within each dynamic project context. In combination with a healthy irreverence to the norms and conventions of contemporary design, our rigorous and comprehensive design/build process yields unexpected, extraordinary landscapes. Our work synthesizes biological function, ecological rehabilitation, cultural production and subjective experience within the landscape’s innate capacity for growth and change.
Our vast and ever-growing knowledge of plants from around the world contributes significantly to the production of responsible landscapes that are as unique as they are sustainable. Above all, we thrive on creating exuberant outdoor environments, accessible and integrated within our daily lives, that celebrate the relationship between planetary health, artistic expression and the ephemerality of the natural world.
On a sprawling hillside property, a series of intimate gathering spaces maximizes the use and enjoyment of the land. Cascading vines and lush planting soften large retaining walls, making them virtually disappear. Canyon views are artfully framed with trees and foliage, masking adjacent houses and rooftops while maintaining open vistas of the borrowed landscape.
Project Design Team: Landscape Design: Elysian Landscapes, Project Architect: Lee Danziger | Project Size: 18,730 sf | Los Angeles, California | Private Residence | Completed 2004
Spread over 10 acres in the Sonoran Desert, a series of linked gardens, each with its own identity and activity, make up the fun-filled grounds for the hotel Parker Palm Springs. Imagined as an eccentric private estate, the lush and colorful gardens offer a myriad of experiences, from croquet and pétanque to drinking and dining, all on a variety of scales. Cozy seating nooks wrap burbling water features and date palms strung up with hammocks invite guests to read, relax or nap. Meandering paths weave throughout the abundantly planted property, and lavender, citrus blossoms and sage perfume the warm air.
Project Design Team: Landscape Design: Elysian Landscapes, Interior Design: Jonathan Adler Interior Design, Project Architect: MR Architecture + Decor, Executive Architect: John R. Trueblood Architecture | Project size: 435,000 sf | Palm Springs, California | Jack Parker Corporation/Le Méridien | Completed 2008
PLATFORM is an open-air assemblage of unique shops, restaurants, pop-up venues and creative offices. The landscape design aims to connect the dispersed elements and compressed urban spaces. Bursts of vegetation interrupt otherwise fluid circulation, slowing pedestrian traffic while providing dynamic views across the site.
Often used as a large-scale event space by night, many opportunities for intimate gatherings encourage an informal daytime population of regulars as well. The plant palette strengthens continuity of the overall project atmosphere, while the designation of three distinct plant zones (native, desert and subtropical) gives individual identity to smaller areas within the project.
Project Design Team: Landscape Design: Elysian Landscapes, Project Architect: Abramson Teiger Architects | Project Size: 128,000 sf | Culver City, California | Runyon Group | Completed 2016
Communicating the philosophy of a brand through landscape is a truly exciting challenge. In a retail context, landscape often represents the first layer of experience and thus, is a powerful tool for communicating the company vision. These opportunities often involve highly collaborative relationships with the client and design team. Working with materiality, color, texture, form, and scale, and couples with seasonality and fragrance, we use all elements of our design to express ideas, engage people, and connect with our senses.
Project Design Team: Landscape Designer: Elysian Landcapes, Project Architect: Balenciaga, Executive Architect: Brand & Allen Architects (Balenciaga) | Project Architect: Stephan Jaklitsch (Marc Jacobs), Executive Architect: Brand & Allen Architects (Marc Jacobs) | Project Architect: Franklin Azzi Architecture (Isabel Marant), Executive Architect: Montalba Architects (Isabel Marant) | Project Sizes: varies
A complex campus for a single-family home creates the opportunity for a multi-layered landscape. Building on the indoor/outdoor living imperative embodied in the mid-century architecture of the original structure, a series of outdoor spaces flow from one to another throughout the expansive property.
The crisp geometry of the primary circulation and patios serves as a transition from architecture to landscape, and paired with winding paths and informal trails, creates a natural hierarchy of movement. Filled with oaks and redwoods, and influenced by the proximity to the Arroyo Seco of Pasadena, the garden’s warm palette of low-water need native, subtropical and Mediterranean plantings knits together a boundless and continuous landscape from the surrounding indigenous vegetation.
Project Design Team: Landscape Designer: Elysian Landscapes, Historic Architect: Carl Straub (1954), Project Architect/Pool, Design: Fung + Blatt Architects | Project Size: 51, 400 sf | San Marino, California | Private Residence | Completed 2012-2016
