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FIRM PROFILE
Katherine Spitz Associates, Inc. (KSA) is a nationally recognized landscape architecture firm established in 1993, which celebrated its fifteenth anniversary in 2008.
Noted for its collaborative skills, award-winning designs and responsive client service, KSA brings a strong aesthetic
and experiential vision to each project. This ten-person firm engages in all scales of landscape architecture and
urban design, from public spaces, streetscapes and parks to select private gardens.
Our design process investigates the history and the memory of an area, evoking the spirit of a community. Each KSA
project addresses the conceptual issues of identity in landscape, producing places that reflect the client's particular
mission. Our landscape architecture embraces a sustainable approach that respects our Southern California ecology,
placing it in a cultural framework.
We welcome the challenges of complex sites, and our designs are always mindful of the practical considerations of
program, maintenance, and budget. The long-term success of any project depends on the successful integration of both
aesthetic and practical concerns. KSA is experienced in technically demanding projects that involve complex engineering
considerations, including large-scale urban projects, planting over structure, intensive grading, and accessibility
challenges.
The Principal of our firm, Katherine Spitz, AIA, ASLA, is trained as a painter and architect as well as a landscape
architect. Under her leadership, the design philosophy of KSA encompasses both a painterly sensibility and a sense
of artistic discipline. We are noted for working closely with architects, engineers and clients to create landscapes
that are simultaneously architectonic and site sensitive.
Within a wide-ranging portfolio of landscape experience, KSA has notable achievements in the following areas:
Streetscapes and public/civic projects
Campus and higher education
Urban design
Awards:
California Preservation Foundation, Design Award, Guasti Villa Restoration
El Segundo Civic Center Competition, First Place
Los Angeles Section American Planning Association, Pico Boulevard Streetscape
Westside Urban Forum Honor Award, Pico Boulevard
City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Commission Award of Design Excellence, Ascot Reservoir DWP Childcare
The American Institute of Architects, Design Award
The American Institute of Architects, Design Award, Santa Monica Community Cooperative Housing Project
Progressive Architecture Award, Arts Park Performing Arts Pavilion
California Preservation Foundation Award, Cabrillo Beach House Rehabilitation
International Interior Design Association Calibre Award, UCSD Cancer Center Courtyard
KATHERINE SPITZ, AIA, ASLA, Principal
As Principal of Katherine Spitz Associates, Inc., Katherine Spitz participates in all stages of project development, from
design through project management and construction administration. Trained as a painter, licensed as an Architect and a
Landscape Architect, she brings a strong sense of rigor combined with creative aesthetics to each project. She is
particularly interested in applying the experiential qualities of landscape to the civic realm.
Her background and experience in the fine arts and horticulture is extensive, allowing her to develop landscape designs which
are truly interdisciplinary. Her involvement with landscape design and horticulture began in 1974, working with the Barnitz
Nursery in Santa Barbara and for the United States Forest Service, in the Los Padres National Forest. From this involvement,
she developed an appreciation for the exotic plant materials of the horticultural world and for the native drought-tolerant
plants of Southern California.
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| Education: |
Master of Architecture, School of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of California, Los Angeles 1980
Bachelor of Arts, Painting, College of Creative Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1975
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| Professional Licenses: |
Licensed Architect, State of California C-18142
Licensed Landscape Architect, State of California 3846
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| Affiliations: |
Board of Directors, American Institute of Architects, LA Chapter
American Society of Landscape Architects
Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Commission Design Advisory Panel
Commissioner, County of Los Angeles, Marina Del Rey Design Advisory Board
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