Terremoto and its 'unapologetically ecologically focused landscapes' in California
Terremoto, the dynamic and gentle landscape architecture firm, is part of our series of emerging studios that spearhead change in California

Terremoto is the kind of firm that enthusiastically describes its approach to a recent project as ‘hippie-dippy gooey goodness.’ The landscape architecture design studio with offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco digs a countercultural vibe. After all, they did restore and enhance the landscape of the Sea Ranch Lodge, the historic (and famously hippie modernist) outpost on the Northern California coast master planned by landscape architect Lawrence Halprin.
Terremoto: a landscape approach to 'mini habitats'
Their gardens and landscapes are mini habitats—places where people, pollinators (birds and bees), native plants, and even art share the love. In the 7th Avenue Garden, designed in collaboration with artist David Horvitz, a weedy, vacant lot was transformed into a small park made up of a jumble of milkweed, plumeria, and wildflowers. Terremoto added a few chunky wood benches and a deck, and rubble and rebar from the demolished LACMA buildings were shaped into found-object sculptures.
‘It’s our present motivation to build unapologetically ecologically focused landscapes that define a new radical aesthetic; we’re looking for new beauty,’ says David Godshall, who founded the practice with Alain Peauroi in 2013. Jenny Jones and Story Wiggins came on board as partners three years later. In the decade since, it’s grown almost exponentially over a period that includes reckonings around climate crisis, social justice, and labour equity.
As such, the studio has changed its own business model and labour practices, eschewing hang-ups on titles like owner or founder, and instituting an egalitarian profit sharing model. 40% of all profits are dispersed amongst the 26-person team every quarter. ‘It’s not perfect, but we’re trying new things and testing it out as we go along,’ says Godshall.
Testing and iterating is at the core of Terremoto’s approach. The office started a ‘test plot’ in Los Angeles’ Elysian Park where they could research biodiversity, foster community land stewardship, and model ways of working with state and city agencies. Private gardens, however, are their primary site of experimentation. It’s where they work to undo the 20th century pastoral, suburban ideal—bright green lawns and privacy hedges—that is hard baked in the California imaginary. ‘We can re-wild our cities quickly and effectively through residential work, simply put,’ he notes, adding that environmental changes can be implemented faster in domestic settings because they are less restricted by the policies and bureaucracy of public space.
Which is not to say that private projects are simply freewheeling. Ethics and politics guide every Terremoto design from ground up. ‘We believe that gardens are processes, not products; we believe in using local materials and native plants as a way of creating gardens that are ecologically resilient; and we believe that the role of the landscape labourers needs to be elevated and given the proper respect it deserves.’
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Mimi Zeiger is a Los Angeles-based critic, editor, and curator, holding a Master of Architecture degree from SCI-Arc and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cornell University. She was co-curator of the U.S. Pavilion for the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, and she has written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Architectural Review, Metropolis, and Architect. Mimi is the 2015 recipient of the Bradford Williams Medal for excellence in writing about landscape architecture. She has also authored New Museums, Tiny Houses, Micro Green: Tiny Houses in Nature, and Tiny Houses in the City. In 1997, Zeiger founded loud paper, an influential zine and digital publication dedicated to increasing the volume of architectural discourse. She is visiting faculty at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) and teaches in the Media Design Practices MFA program at Art Center College of Design. She was co-president of the Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design and taught at the School of Visual Art, Art Center, Parsons New School of Design, and the California College of the Arts (CCA).
-
Premium pocketable audio scales up with the new SP4000 from Astell&Kern
The Astell&Kern A&ultima SP4000 is a serious piece of audiophile equipment, a high-res portable player that offers endless ways to shape your listening experience
-
The ultimate amenity in this Canadian apartment building? A trio of scene-stealing restaurants
Part of Citizen on Jasper, a new residential tower, Va!, Olia, and Mimi offer a thrilling day-to-night dining experience
-
These sculptural mirrors embody the relaxed spirit of the Med
Photographed in a Mallorcan residence designed by local studio Munarq, these new sculptural mirrors by New York furniture company Ready To Hang are inspired by the sea
-
How LA's Terremoto brings 'historic architecture into its next era through revitalising the landscapes around them'
Terremoto, the Los Angeles and San Francisco collective landscape architecture studio, shakes up the industry through openness and design passion
-
This cinematic home in Palm Springs sets a new standard for Desert Modern design
Jill Lewis Architecture and landscape architecture firm Hoerr Schaudt joined forces to envision an exceptional sanctuary
-
Inside a Donald Wexler house so magical, its owner bought it twice
So transfixed was Daniel Patrick Giles, founder of fragrance brand Perfumehead, he's even created a special scent devoted to it
-
The Pagani Residences is the latest ultra-luxe automotive apartment tower to reach Miami
Rising up above Miami, branded apartment buildings are having a renaissance, as everyone from hypercar builders to crystal makers seeks to have a towering structure bearing their name
-
A modern cabin in Minnesota serves as a contemporary creative retreat from the city
Snow Kreilich Architects' modern cabin and studio for an artist on a lakeside plot in Minnesota was designed to spark creativity and provide a refuge from the rat race
-
Touring artist Glenn Ligon's studio in Brooklyn with its architect, Ravi Raj
Glenn Ligon's studio, designed by architect Ravi Raj, is an industrial Brooklyn space reimagined for contemporary art
-
The Monthly Architecture Edit: Wallpaper’s favourite July houses
From geometric Japanese cottages to restored modernist masterpieces, these are the best residential projects to have crossed the architecture desk this month
-
A dynamic Mar Vista house plays with the rhythm of indoor and outdoor living
A new Mar Vista house, designed by Mexican architecture studio PPAA, combines a façade with a whisper of brutalism, and a breezy, open interior, seamlessly connected to its Los Angeles setting