LPA comes of as a bit of a industry juggernaut at first; they've been around since 1965, and they're an “integrated design” firm – meaning they handle landscape architecture, interior design, as well as engineering and master planning. They've racked up a grand total of over 300 major design awards over the years. And they've built pretty much every type of building, from educational and religious facilities, to corporate and retail building, and everything in between. At the same time, however, the firm has a lot going in its favor against being stereotyped as some sort of soulless titan of architectural design. LPA's website mentions their ability to feel like a small company due to their integrated nature. Their sustainable design efforts might be an example of this; the company has been a member of the U.S. Green Building Council since 2000, and they have 78 percent of their staff trained as LEED Accredited Professionals. LPA also claims to have more LEED projects on the ground and in the works combined than any other firm in California. The firm designed Orange County's first LEED Platinum certified structure, the Envionmental Nature Center, and they also lay claim to a number of other notable sustainable projects. Their work on Toyota's South Campus headquarters in Torrance earned a LEED Gold rating, becoming one the largest privately funded projects ever to receive that rating (featuring the largest privately funded rooftop solar panel system in the country.) They also recently finished work on the Flight Projects Center at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, which also received a LEED Gold rating. The company also has a blog dedicated to the latest in their sustainable work, at blog.lpainc.com.
LPA comes of as a bit of a industry juggernaut at first; they've been around since 1965, and they're an “integrated design” firm – meaning they handle landscape architecture, interior design, as well as engineering and master planning. They've racked up a grand total of over 300 major design awards over the years. And they've built pretty much every type of building, from educational and religious facilities, to corporate and retail building, and everything in between. At the same time, however, the firm has a lot going in its favor against being stereotyped as some sort of soulless titan of architectural design. LPA's website mentions their ability to feel like a small company due to their integrated nature. Their sustainable design efforts might be an example of this; the company has been a member of the U.S. Green Building Council since 2000, and they have 78 percent of their staff trained as LEED Accredited Professionals. LPA also claims to have more LEED projects on the ground and in the works combined than any other firm in California. The firm designed Orange County's first LEED Platinum certified structure, the Envionmental Nature Center, and they also lay claim to a number of other notable sustainable projects. Their work on Toyota's South Campus headquarters in Torrance earned a LEED Gold rating, becoming one the largest privately funded projects ever to receive that rating (featuring the largest privately funded rooftop solar panel system in the country.) They also recently finished work on the Flight Projects Center at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, which also received a LEED Gold rating. The company also has a blog dedicated to the latest in their sustainable work, at blog.lpainc.com.