We are a service oriented design firm, with regional expertise and a specific emphasis between homes and the land they inhabit. Started in 2005 and led by the team of Mike Lucas and Jennifer Lucas Kelher, we bring together varied experience and well-honed architectural and landscape oriented skill sets to create complete sophisticated indoor-outdoor environments. Lucas & Lucas is an incarnation of our balanced lifestyle and core values, rooted in the community and landscape of Northern California.

Our work evolves organically from our close relationship with the land and our clients. Our diverse backgrounds, our iterative process, and our equal dedication to structure and context have enabled us to produce a portfolio of work that is a true blending of architecture and landscape. We are purposefully small in scale in order to maintain close contact with the process, the creations and our clients. We pride ourselves on the fact that we do not have a signature style but approach each project as a fresh opportunity for discovery, while our spirit and philosophy is always present and expressed in our work.

While we both hold graduate degrees in design, Mike in Landscape Architecture and Jennifer in Architecture, we pursued alternate fields as undergraduates. Our diverse backgrounds, together with the yin and yang of our personalities, brings a balanced and dynamic approach to both our practice and our personal lives. Our tenure in the design and build community gives us the context and contacts to assemble and work successfully with a variety of design teams.

Jennifer Lucas Kelher

With an undergraduate degree in business from Boston University and a graduate degree in architecture from Cal Poly Pomona, Jennifer is direct and detail oriented. She has worked on Wall Street, lived everywhere from large cities to a cabin in the woods, and is deeply committed to integrity, client service and creative design solutions. Jennifer brings her urban sophistication and true love of the land, nature, people, and art to inspire refined living solutions in our rural landscape.   

Michael Lucas

With an undergraduate degree in sociology from the University of California Santa Barbara and a graduate degree in landscape architecture from Cal Poly, Pomona, Mike is intuitive and creative.  A mid-western native transplanted to San Luis Obispo at an early age, Mike grew up surfing and camping up and down California’s central coast.  His love of sculpting, gardening, family, and wilderness make landscape architecture a natural fit for his personality.  Mike brings a personal, soulful approach to his life and work. 

Sophie Krause

With an undergraduate degree in environmental science and biology from the University of California Santa Cruz and a graduate degree in landscape architecture from University of Washington, Seattle, Sophie is an explorer and loves design.  She is a Sonoma County native, and loves the outdoors, gardening, and food production.. She enjoys many creative pursuits and time exploring and adventuring with friends and family. Her love of plants, science, habitats, design and creativity give her a well-rounded approach to landscape architecture. 

Michael Soto

With an undergraduate degree in landscape architecture from University of Oregon Eugene, Michael loves the flora of his home state of California. Growing up Santa Barbara, he spent time exploring and understanding the local landscape with his family and friends. Ever curious and soaking up information, Michael brings a can-do and team attitude to the team. His plant knowledge is extensive, and he has a commitment to design explorations always building on his knowledge base.

Arek Medina

We are happy to have Arek back on our team after a year and a half working with a design/build team to hone his skills understanding detail development, project implementation, budgets and constructibility. Arek graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from University of California, Davis. He excels at organized problem solving, project tracking and ensuring nothing is left behind. He ensures that our construction documents are consistent, organized, complete and delivered on time.

Photographer: Dan Quinones