Holly Kuwayama ASLA

Principal

Holly Kuwayama is a third generation Japanese American and Los Angeles native. Her parents had a strong interest in arts and culture that engrained her appreciation for the visual, performing and contemporary arts as well as travel that is enriched by cultural experiences of food, handicrafts, traditions, and people’s daily lives.

As a Principal at Studio-MLA, Holly has nearly three decades of experience in landscape architecture involved in parks, schools, hospitality, and campus projects.  She was part of the visionary Irvine Great Park master plan team resulting in numerous Great Park programmatic park implementation plans, master plans and feasibility studies.  Holly completed the multi-phased restoration of Beverly Gardens Park, a 1.9 mile linear park for the City of Beverly Hills, awarded the Preservation Design Award by the California Preservation Foundation.

A founding member of Studio-MLA, mentored by Mia Lehrer, Holly runs the business side of the practice, its strategy, finance and operations, and studio culture. She keeps the firm on stable financial footing through shifting market conditions. That stability lets the design studio take on larger commissions, pursue the clients it wants, and bring new talent. As Studio-MLA has grown over three decades, much of that operational and financial success can be attributed to her leadership.

Holly holds an Advanced Bachelor of Arts in Japanese and Spanish literature and minor in Asian Studies from Occidental College and her Professional Designation Certificate in Landscape Architecture from UCLA Extension. Holly is based in the Los Angeles studio.