A voracious advocate of urbanism, RELM’s Founding Principal Scott Baker seeks to engender public life in cities across America. He’s deeply committed to the role transit plays in elevating daily life, reconciling disparate uses and users to create signature destinations. Recent commissions include FBI’s Redstone Innovation Campus in Huntsville, AL; UC San Diego’s Science Research Park (one of two Wexford Science and Technology projects); Liberation Park in East Oakland, and District NOHO, LA Metro’s largest P3 commission. Scott’s ability to synthesize site programming requirements with mobility, circulation, and community benefit makes him a trusted ally for client and project teams alike.

EDUCATION
Bachelor of Landscape Architecture, University of Guelph, 1995

LICENSURE
California, Arizona, Georgia, Texas, Alabama, North Carolina, Oregon, Maryland, Utah, Virginia, Washington DC

 ‘Design isn’t always the answer. Sometimes you have to resist the purely creative process and allow public life to drive the urban form before you begin the creative process. You can’t just inherit a site and not question how things are connected.  I love the edges as much as I love the landscape.’

David plays a seminal role as Associate Design Principal at RELM.  Trained in both architecture and regional planning, David believes successful open space is inextricably linked to programming.  His design ethos is to create dynamic and whimsical environments that prompt social interaction—formal and informal—for all seasons and times of day.  Key projects at RELM include California Natural Resources Headquarters and separate daycare facility, 800 N Brand, 3401 South La Cienega, and Courthouse Commons North Block.  As Design Principal, David engages with all staff in conceptualizing and evolving each project.  He mentors and empowers designers to think critically and creatively. Prior to joining RELM, he worked for James Corner Field Operations and SWA, realizing decorated urban parks across the country—Tongva Park, Navy Pier, and Fresh Kills.

EDUCATION
Master of Architecture, University of Toronto, 2007
Bachelor of Regional Planning, Missouri State University, 2001

‘For me, it’s all about people’s daily experience.  Seeing the public activate a landscape brings me tremendous satisfaction.  I take great pride in crafting well-executed open space, both formally and in construction.  But when scores of people immerse themselves in a landscape—playing, conversing, reading—I realize the most gratification.  Open space is for everyday living.’

Valorie plays an integral role at RELM, helping leadership advance the firm’s mission and reach.  She rebranded RELM, working in partnership with founder Scott Baker, and has continued spearheading RELM’s client and communications strategies. Over her six-year tenure, she has helped recruit, secure project and speaking commissions, introduce RELM to new markets and design collaborators, and working with teams in how to realize compelling storyline, visually and in words.  She loves advocating the importance of discipline, authoring two Volumes of Interplay, RELM’s ezine showcasing the role landscape architecture plays on daily life.  Increasingly, Valorie’s role is to help RELM gain national stature while cultivating voice and agency at all levels of staff.  She works most directly with the principal group but infuses studio culture with a sense of curiosity aimed to evolve practice and meaning in our work.

Education
Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin, 1997

‘Even timeless designs have a point of view.  Brands—and their leaders—need to give voice to their point of view to succeed.’

Luning (Luna) Li is one of RELM’s most accomplished designers. Adeptly facile in concept ideation and schematic design, she generates open space schemes for a variety of project typologies, envisioning discrete moments of wonder into projects. She shares her creative process with others, successfully onboarding new staff members in graphic standards and design deliverable production. Luna’s creativity has helped RELM win coveted design competitions including Richards Boulevard Office Complex and California Natural Resources Headquarters, both state agency projects in Sacramento, as well as LAX’s consolidated car rental facility (CONRAC). Currently, she is leading Spark!, an affordable housing complex in Salt Lake City, and Timber Yards, a new urban master plan in Bend, Oregon.

EDUCATION
Master of Landscape Architecture, University of Southern California 2012
Bachelor of Art, Environmental Art & Design, Tsinghua University 2010

‘Landscape architecture comprehensively improves urban life. It resolves many key questions related to mobility and settlement; anchors people to place by creating destinations; and ultimately uplifts the social energy of urban centers.  Landscape is the life line to how we live.’

Chad Krenzke leads many of RELM’s most significant podium and infrastructure projects. His command of complex systems and design decisions that must be realized and coordinated in collaboration with other disciplines—both during the documentation process and in the field—distinguishes his leadership within the studio. He’s adept in project management and construction administration having led such key projects as Ivy Station, a 5.2-acre mixed-use transit-oriented development adjacent to the Expo Line station in Culver City, ConRac, a 73-acre landscape at LAX, and several multi-family projects throughout the State such as Courthouse Commons – North Block, Santa Monica and Yale, and The Bloc Residential Tower. For all, Chad serves as RELM’s Technical Director and key point person, working in tandem with RELM Design Principals to render some of the studio’s most heralded commissions.

EDUCATION
Bachelor of Landscape Architecture, Colorado State University, 2012

‘In the urban realm, we create and transform the landscape, beyond the obvious, to create something memorable that enriches the quality of life in our cities.’

Lev­­eraging insights and methods from digital culture, historical analysis, mapping, programming, and drawing, Jarrad embraces an open vision for creative practice. His work at RELM focuses on the design and delivery of large-scale urban visions, most prominently, District NOHO, a $1 Billion multi-use, transit-focused development proposed for North Hollywood. Once complete, it will render unprecedented density in the Valley: 1500 residential units; 500,000 SF office; and 100,000 SF retail around 2 acres of open space, all leveraging the convergence of transit lines (rail and bus).  Jarrad is also leading several campus projects, higher ed and K-12: two UC projects in Sacramento and Merced in addition to multiple LAUSD projects. Prior to RELM, he played a substantial role in delivering projects for Stoss Landscape Urbanism including the Eda U Gerstacker Grove at the University of Michigan. In Australia, Jarrad worked in both the public and private sectors. He was the lead designer on a significant transportation infrastructure project at Hassell working with the City of Melbourne.

EDUCATION
Bachelor of Design – Landscape Architecture (Hons. 1st Class) RMIT University, 2015
Bachelor of Applied Science – Urban Planning (Hons. 1st Class) RMIT University, 2015

‘Design is about opening up new possibilities for connection, reflection, and experience in our cities, peeling back the layers of our daily lives to reveal the potential of our shared spaces.’

Adeptly talented in visual representation, conceptual design, and construction documentation, Xinxin works alongside senior leaders to conceive and detail landscapes across a spectrum of project types. In a span of just two years, after graduating with Master of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning from University of Pennsylvania, Xinxin has helped RELM win several notable competitions including the $4 billion, 5,000 employee, Richards Boulevard complex in Sacramento for the Department of Government Services along with two of LAUSD’s largest modernization efforts: Ascot Elementary and the Elizabeth Learning Center. Her documentation and construction administration skills are equally an asset. Xinxin has played a critical design role in a number of projects, including 1633 26th St., 800 N. Brand, and the Paypal Headquarters corporate campus in Silicon Valley, to name a few. From competition to field work, Xinxin’s design acumen and rigor make her a rising talent within the studio.

EDUCATION
Master of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, University of Pennsylvania, 2018
Bachelor of Landscape Architecture, South China University of Technology, 2016

‘Designing landscapes in an urban context is like stage design. I look to create a proscenium for people to linger, for storylines unfold.’

Drawn to design for its ability to be simultaneously critical and imaginative, Hana strives to mediate social, spatial, and ecological disparity through landscape architecture. Their approach to spatial design is both playful and rigorous inviting experiences of connection and delight within projects that overall seek to foster societal and planetary change. With a penchant for plant-based approaches to problem-solving, Hana is skilled at restoring ecological function within large urban parks and plazas. They lead highly complex projects having worked on Brooklyn Bridge Park and Waterloo Greenway during their tenure at Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, learning how hydrology and geotechnics inform design vernacular and construction methodology. Hana’s passion around the ethics of landscape architecture and design as a transformative social practice earned them recognition as both an Olmsted and ASLA NY Designing in the Public Realm Scholar. At RELM, they serve as a project manager, currently leading the UC’s San Diego Medical Research Campus, a $5 billion project with Wexford Science + Technology, and contributing to District NOHO, LA County’s largest TOD project.

EDUCATION
Master of Landscape Architecture, Anne and Bernard Spitzer School of Architecture, City College of New York, 2019
Bachelor of Feminist Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, 2009

‘The collective experience of landscape holds a unique potential for shaping cultural expectations.’

Wei-Lun joins RELM with extensive experience in both urban planning and landscape architecture, holding dual master’s degrees. Passionate how context influences the character and experiential qualities of a site— sunlight, shade/shadow, as well as form and circulation— Wei Lun believes spatial design is the synthesis of urban design, anthropology, horticulture, and human and ecological need. Skilled in REVIT and several digital platforms, Wei-Lun works directly with RELM’s leadership to detail documentation packages and serves as a Project Manager. Projects include Hollywood and Wilcox, a multi-family high-rise in Hollywood, Aggie Square at UC Davis, and District NOHO, a transit-oriented development connecting 15 train and bus lines into a new 15-acre mixed-use site in North Hollywood. Prior to joining RELM, Wei-Lun worked at SWA.

EDUCATION
Master of Landscape Architecture, University of Washington 2017
Master of Urban Planning, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, 2011
Bachelor of Landscape Architecture, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taiwan, 2009

‘Form is not how most users engage with design; it’s context and use. Only when sites work for people are beauty and detailing appreciated.’

Yu Cheng joins RELM having earned her Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. Her design work, both its inherent approach to site systems and celebration of seasonality, is exemplary. Yu seeks to convey the evolution of time when creating project visualizations. Illustrating how landscapes mature over time, enhancing the urban surround through natural processes is her passion. Yu joins the studio having interned for RELM in 2019, since then having worked seamlessly alongside project leaders across a broad range of project typologies. Among her contributions are those for Richards Boulevard Office Complex, UC Davis’ Aggie Square, and series of mixed-use projects near downtown Los Angeles, including 8850 Sunset Boulevard and 3401 South La Cienega. Yu continues to be a source of intelligent, meaningful insight for all her projects.

EDUCATION
Master of Landscape Architecture, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 2019
Bachelor of Engineering majoring in Landscape Architecture, Hunan University, 2016

‘Landscapes are dynamic. I approach design through an ecological, cultural, and interactive lens wishing to convey the active energy of a given site.’

Chenjie (Alfred) Zhang comes to RELM from Rhode Island School of Design’s Master of Landscape Architecture program. Chenjie brings a systems-focused approach to his work, thoughtfully examining how differing community needs can be comprehensively addressed through the lens of landscape. To him, design needs to respond to economic, ecological, and health issues as much as resolve programming needs. Chenjie is passionate exploring the intersection of sculpture, architecture, and landscape architecture to achieve both beauty and functionality in his designs.

EDUCATION
Master of Landscape Architecture Rhode Island School of Design, 2022
Bachelor of Landscape Architecture Shanghai Business School, 2019

‘The world needs art. And so, it has us, the people, using learned and innate skill to design, support, and create.’

Xinlei Gu, a recent graduate of Rhode Island School of Design Master of Landscape Architecture program, is inspired by the connective role landscape architecture plays between nature, humans, and happiness. She believes designing open space involves looking at a composite of need and aspiration—ecological, economic, equity, users, and mobility—to maximize tangible outcomes for multiple conditions.  Collaboration coupled with diversity of expertise is imperative to realize such benefit.  She looks forward to being part of large project teams, contributing her artistic, illustrative hand and modeling skills, hastening health and happiness through urban development.

EDUCATION
Master of Landscape Architecture—Rhode Island School of Design, 2022
Bachelor of Engineering in Landscape Architecture—Nanjing Agricultural University, 2018

‘For me, landscape architecture exists not only as spaces, places, and memories, but also as a medium to connect me to the environment and the rest of the world.’

Inspired by her father, an engineer, Bingtao found her way to design through a love of creation.  Holding a Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, Bingtao’s passion is “the space in between.”  She is particularly interested in connecting the urban landscape to its wild roots, designing urban spaces that support – and foster – flora and fauna.  Her work at RELM includes SPARK!, an affordable housing TOD project in Salt Lake City, a prominent mixed-use project at the Hollywood Toyota site, and a new 30-acre urban village for the University of Redlands. A previous RELM intern, Bingtao advances the studio’s illustrative acumen and design inquiry.

EDUCATION
Master of Landscape Architecture, University of Pennsylvania, 2023
Bachelor of Engineering in Urban Planning, Huaqiao University, 2020

‘I hope my work elicits both connection and stewardship.  Revealing hidden stories embedded with a landscape bolsters a sense of wonder to spend time in nature, in cities or in natural settings, increasing the value humans place on ecology.’

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With a decorated background in production design,  Kat joins RELM to spearhead day-to-day studio activities and assist with marketing and communications efforts. Formally educated in both Technical Theater and English, Kat has enjoyed producing sets for Disney, Universal Studios, California Academy of Science, and Academy Museum of Motion Pictures as well as theatrical productions in Tokyo, where she lived for 4 years. In her role, Kat works alongside RELM’s senior leaders to advance RELM’s brand and business goals. Away from the office, she continues her passion for production design, welding set pieces for Wasteland Weekend, an annual festival in Southern California.

EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts, Technical Theater and English, College of Charleston, 2009

 ‘It’s the pockets of gentle design and greenery found within the urban landscape that make it feel inviting, safe, and inspiring. I want to support the efforts to create—and expand—those spaces.’

Marsha Wong’s commitment to helping clients manifest ambition and reach through financial performance is formidable. Versant in both corporate and project accounting, Marsha is masterful in visually communicating data. She joins RELM with twelve years’ experience, most recently as accounting manager for AC Martin. She works with RELM’s leadership team creating reporting tools, setting performance targets, and strategizing financial investment.

EDUCATION
Bachelor of Accounting Azusa Pacific University, 2010

‘Ultimately, I enjoy the details in numbers and how the smallest thing can impact actions/desires/metrics on a much larger scale. There is something so satisfying about having figures balanced and well organized.’