Rocio GertlerRLA, ASLA, LEED AP

A leading advocate for a collaborative, research-based approach to landscape architecture, Rocio is focused on developing spaces that are provocative, functional, responsible and unforgettable. With a background in architecture, she has the rare ability to connect outdoor environments to the built environment, creating spaces that work better for the users.

A native of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, Rocio’s influence can be found on a wide variety of education, life science, healthcare, commercial and civic projects. Her early career includes work on a variety of transformative projects, including the Texas Tech Health Sciences Building in Houston, TX; the Salk Institute Expansion in La Jolla, CA; and the Woodall Rodgers Park in Dallas, TX. In San Diego, she designed and was the project for several life science projects, including the award-winning Campus Pointe. She was also designer for the San Diego East Village Park, Kaiser Permanente Hospital and the showcase drought tolerant landscape and living wall for the SD&G Innovation Center.

In 2013, she founded LdG Landscape Architects, a boutique firm that established a track record of designing impactful, sustainable spaces. She continued campus master plan projects for several commercial developers with focus on providing a healthy lifestyle for work spaces. Her work included a long relationship IDEA 1, a mix of residential, retail and co-working spaces in San Diego’s East Village, and the renovation of The Summit at Rancho Bernardo, which included the creation of amenity-rich spaces connecting a cluster of large one-story buildings. She was also instrumental in the renovation of a San Diego medical office building for Kaiser Permanente, featuring a public square designed to engage the community in different ways.

“I feel like projects are about creating emotions, and that’s how spaces are perceived and remembered,” Rocio says. “To do our best work, we need to understand the user, the site, the surroundings and the client, and that requires research and collaboration.”