PORTFOLIO
Lucas Murillo 2020-2025
• RETHINKING THE LA RIVER
• FIELD SKETCHING
• SELF STARTER: 2022-2023 | LIFE & LAND HAWAII
• CONSTUCTION DOCUMENTS & 3D RENDER: PAVING & DECKING,
• SEA RANCH & DOUG THOMPSON STUDIO
• MODEL BUILDING
• GARDEN OF OUR DREAMS: DIABLO CREEK
• MAPPING
• SUITABILITY ANALYSIS: ARTHROPOD FRIENDLY LANDSCAPES
• ARTHROPOD FRIENDLY LANDSCAPES: ILLUSTRATIVE DESIGN
• ARTWORK
Plan Fragment(1928)
Scale 1”= 1000’
Section A-A’ (1928)
Scale 1”= 400’
A-A' Section (SW-NE)
Scale 1:300
RETHINKING THE LARIVER
This studio project allowed us to gain experience using common site analysis techniques in the context of the 51 mile long LA River. Within our research we found that the social, cultural, and environmental history of the Elysian Valley are closely tied to its topogrpahy. Rich indigenous histories, stories in flood risk mitigation, and a rapidly expanding urban environment all play a role in how the river is experienced by the community today.
The plans, sections, and 3d models featured were not only an opportuntiy to develop foundational tools Landscape Architects use, they were key excercises in understanding the significance of place. Knowledge gained from these activities would later play a role in site selection and design.
Plan Fragment (2020)
Scale 1”= 1000’
Section A-A’ (2020)
Scale 1”= 400’
Date: Spring 2024
Class: Studio
Project: LA River: Site Analysis
Role: Independent Project
2020 3D Rhino Model of Fragment
Alluvium
Earth
Concrete Channel
Subgrade
LA RIVER: CURRENT CONDITIONS
Scale: 1”=50’
2020 Section
LA RIVER STUDIO: LIVING FILTERS
Channel Walls
Fine sand & planting
Coarse grain sand & Perforation
Eco-Filtration
Biochar
Coarse Gravel
Clay Pipe Filter System
3/4”=1’
Clay Pipes / Containers & Layered Aggregate
Studio MLA: Clay Sieving
Studio MLA: Clay Pipe Scrapyard
Date: Fall 2024
Project: Field sketches
Role: Observer/Artist
EAST
0’ 5’ 10’ ELEVATIONS SCALE 1”=5’
WEST
Date: 2022
Project: ADU Concept
Org.: Paradise Tiny Homes
Role: Hired Designer
Location: Hilo, HI
Date: 2022
Project: ADU Concept
Org.: Ho’akeolapono Trades Academy
Role: Hired Designer
Location: Anahola, HI
East Perspective
West Perspective
CONSTRUCTION II: CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTATION
REFERENCE NOTES SCHEDULE
CODE DESCRIPTION QTY
01 General CONCRETE PAVING 1 1,775 sf COLOR:DARK GREY, TOPCAST25, MICRO ETCH CONCRETE PAVING 2 539 sf TERRA COTTA, TOPCAST25, MED ETCH UNILOCK EUROPAVER 419 sf INTERLOCKING PAVERS WITH A SMOOTH CLASSIC APPEARANCE. PATTERN REQUIRES (80%) 12IN. X 12IN. AND (20%) 6IN. X 6IN. UNITS. FOR PEDESTRIAN AND LIGHT VEHICULAR APPLICATIONS. FOR PEDESTRIAN AND LIGHT VEHICULAR APPLICATIONS. COLOR: 6IN. TERRA COTTA, 12IN PIECES
PLUGS 2GAL POTS, 12INCH SPACED O.C.
Lucas Murillo
TWO-POINT PERSPECTIVE
A
LUMION- PERSPECTIVE
ELEVATION
SIDEWALK
PLANT SCHEDULE
SYMBOL BOTANICAL / COMMON NAME QTY TREES
Eriobotrya deflexa Bronze Loquat 1
Quercus lobata / Valley Oak 1 SHRUBS
Achillea millefolium Common Yarrow 25
Arctostaphylos manzanita Common Manzanita 2
Artemisia californica / California Sagebrush 4
Diplacus aurantiacus Sticky Monkeyflower 8
Epilobium canum / California Fuchsia 4
Eschscholzia californica / California Poppy 18
Festuca californica / California Fescue 8
Monardella villosa / Coyote Mint 63
Muhlenbergia rigens Deer Grass 14
Phacelia californica California Phacelia 24
Rhus integrifolia / Lemonade Berry 2
Ribes malvaceum / Chaparral Currant 3
Salvia apiana / White Sage 5
THE SEA RANCH: COMMONS LAND COMMITTEE (CLC) & DOUG THOMSPON STUDIO
L1: Site Analysis
General Site Analysis & Constraints
The Volunteer Fire Station is located at the base of a hillside meadow. The topography directs water southwest down the hill where it meets a wetland swale. As water is concentrated here it is retained in this location and slowly infiltrates back into the earth rather than becoming storm water runoff across paved surfaces. The presence of water creates a diverse habitat, allowing many riparian associated flora and fauna to survive. This feature adds to the ecological value of the site.
In the Southeast corner, the topography offers a natural barrier to southern storm winds and rains. In combination with the hillside elevation are clusters of planted Monterey Cypress and closedcone pine forest that may also add to storm protection as well as break the sound of Highway 1 from outside the lot. In the summer this location is a micro-climate of its own, consisting of summer breezes and shade.
Commons
Prevailing Winter Breeze
Prevailing Summer Breeze
Winter Solstice Sunset
Summer Solstice Sunset
Highway Sound
Wetland Swale
ViewCooridor Setback
Southern Storms
COMMONS LAND COMMITTEE
The Sea Ranch Preserve is now confronting new ecological challenges as hundreds of Monterey cypress and Douglas fir trees, planted by the original founders, approach maturity simultaneously. These aging, densely planted stands, combined with decades of limited forest floor management, have increased fuel loads and elevated wildfire risk. While the founders’ ethos of “living lightly on the land” guided a minimal-intervention approach, current conditions are calling for more adaptive, stewardship-based management strategy that balances ecological integrity with fire resilience.
PURPLE MARTIN
OLIVE SIDED FLYCATCHER
PILOTS REACH & SPUR CLOSE : MAINTENANCE CALL
HUCKLEBERRY
Section B-B’
Section A-A’
GARDEN OF OUR DREAMS: DIABLO CREEK
Date: Fall 2024
Studio
Context
A first year, first semester studio project requried us to research histories and ecologies of a childhood place; I chose Concord California, where I grew up. I wanted to create a design for a location that would facilitate a connection with one of the last free flowing creeks in Contra Costa County. Making the connection between residents and the creek is done in three ways. First, using interpretive signage is a way to educate visitors about the ephemeral creek, its plant communities, and its relationships with animals. Second, the use of long treaded steps could provide access directly to the creek as well as seating. Thirdly, a smooth walking path can allow for pedestrians to adventure deeper into the natural surroundings, away from city streets.
1. Native Shrub and Grass
2. Steps/seats at Diablo Creek
3. Planted boulder and slope
4.Serpentine Seats
5. Serpentine Seats
MAPPING REALITY
Contra costa county has sprawled to its literal limits, applying pressure to some of the last barriers of wildfire between undeveloped land and the developed.
Sacramento Count Base Map
SACRAMENTO COUNTY
The object was to find a a location suitable for the contstruction of a new warehouse by locating permitted zones that also satisfied requirements by the EPA.
Date: Fall 2024
Sacramento County Permitted Zones Satisfying EPA Regulations
Spring 2024
SUITABILITY ANALYSIS: ARTHROPOD FRIENDLY LANDSCAPES
Cesar Chavez Park
◊ Identified a high-need urban green space where ecological restoration and equitable park access intersect.
◊ Used data-driven mapping to prioritize interventions across census tracts based on nature deficit and ecological integrity.
◊ Partnered with Clean and Green Pomona to incorporate child-friendly, community-informed design strategies.
◊ Proposed phased native planting, invasive removal, and habitat reuse, including mulch and arthropod shelters from felled trees.
◊ Integrated playful ecological education through interactive features like arthropod art and magnifying viewports.
◊ Enhanced habitat connectivity and preserved coastal redwoods with mist irrigation and extending trails into adjacent abandoned railcar spur.
Small Patch Habitat Priority Index
Cesar Chavez Park
South Pacfic Rail Spur
HWY 57 To Downtown Pomona
To Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park
Aerial View: 5,600ft
Aerial View: 1700ft
To Cal Poly Pomona
Proposed Green Linear Pathway
Redwood Preservation
Wavy
Arthropod Viewports
A Constant Change
Adaptive Planting Strategy
• Successional Growth: Transition from Coastal Sage Scrub to Oak Woodland as shade trees mature.
• Resilience & Adaptation: Species adapt to the microhabitat beneath the tree canopy, evolving the landscape over time.
• Maintenance & Accessibility: Clustered layout allows for maintenance access while preserving a natural aesthetic.
• Ecological Interaction: Arthropod-friendly structures enhance biodiversity, balancing natural succession with intentional design.
The Parallel Path
Abandoned Rail Spur
Quercas agrifolia Quercas lobata
Quercas engelmanii
Eriogonum fasciculatum
Salvia apiana Artemisia douglasiana
Salvia melifera
Baccharis sarothroides
Ribes amurum
Adenostoma fasciculatum
Guiterrezia californica
Asclepias californica Diplacus aurantiacus
Loquat Fruit Tree
Medium shrub
Large Trees planted on North side.
Repurposed log from park tree
Native grass
Boulder
Wildflowers, groundcovers mulch, leaf litter
Planting Organization Diagram
Puddled Habitat
ARTWORKS
LARGE SCALE MURALS
A photo of all the artists of the mural festival standing in front of our 100ft large scale mural. This was a community project that required us to prep, paint, and present our work during the 2020 pandemic.
KAUAI MURAL FESTIVAL
SMUGGLERS COVE, SEA RANCH, CA