DJ johns
DJ’s design practice is rooted in framing and extolling nature’s processes amidst the varied contexts of a constructed world.
As a child, a favorite activity was to run outside in his family’s large back yard playing ‘catch the leaves.’ A game most splendid on windy autumn days, the idea was to grab whatever spent foliage had begun its terminal descent before it met the ground. Fast forward and the memories of chasing maple, elm, catalpa, and oak leaves across the sky sustain a passion for observing the nuanced expressions of nature and finding how to best translate and capture them for our own enjoyment.
Falling leaves led to degrees in environmental studies, geology, and literature at Bowdoin College, then landscape architecture at Harvard University. Studies under Michael Van Valkenburg, Peter Walker, Laurie Olin, Martha Schwartz, Linda Jewell and many others led DJ to a broad understanding of design styles, building techniques, spatial analysis, and the value of place. They also cultivated an awareness of exterior space as both connective tissue of our built environments and sanctuary for our personal repose with nature.
DJ’s gardens merge the structure of architecture with the patterns of nature to create serene and artistic spaces.
California Landscape Architect #3956
Tim o’Shea
Tim’s design practice is rooted in deeply listening to a project’s opportunities and needs.
Trained from an early age by Buddhist monks and hippie gardeners here in Northern California, Tim understands that the connection between people and the garden is our connection to a greater sense of Nature and its seasonal cycles.
Paying close attention to the layered stories being told by a site and its architecture is what informs his thoughtful and often unexpected design solutions.
Tim is a polyglot, comfortable speaking a diverse set of design languages. The tone of his work has been described as “lush minimalism,” and spans in scale from sophisticated urban rooftop and courtyard gardens to sweeping estate masterplans, integrating diverse use programs with tailored landscapes that are seamlessly contextualized into their native settings and fluent with each project’s needs.
As an active member of environmental organizations at local and international levels, he believes in the role of design and its ability to restore us, connect us and create solutions in our everyday lives.