Reciprocal Studio is a woman-owned landscape architecture practice based in San Luis Obispo, California. We approach design as a dialogue among people, culture, and environment. We support the creation of landscapes that cultivate discovery and delight, work toward climate justice, and prioritize the agency and culture of communities.
From concept through construction, we collaborate with other design and engineering professionals, cities and municipalities, institutions, and individuals to create landscapes that sustain and foster connections to the unique human and natural ecologies of each place. Diverse in scope and scale, our projects share a commitment to conceptual and technical resolution and an approach that is rooted in local knowledge, environmental conditions, ecological opportunities, and programmatic needs.
In process and place, we foreground generosity and openness; find beauty in complexity; and seek meaning through care and connection with landscapes and communities.
What We Do
Practice:
Landscape Architecture + Urban Design
Project Types:
Civic Spaces / Public Realm
Gardens
Public Space Visioning + Engagement
Campuses / Academic + Office
About
Lauren Hackney
PLA, ASLA | CA License No. 6025
Lauren is a landscape architect and founding principal of Reciprocal Studio. She brings more than a decade of experience working with cities and institutions in the planning, design, and construction of public and shared spaces across California and the U.S. Her design approach is grounded in research and listening, understanding places and communities through their unique culture, ecology, and history. Lauren views collaboration during the design process as the foundation of inclusive places that celebrate diverse voices, and she has extensive experience collaborating with complex stakeholder groups on multi-disciplinary projects and community engagement processes. She holds M.LA and M.Arch degrees and received a B.S. Arch with High Honors, all from the University of Virginia.
Selected Career Experience
CMG Landscape Architecture
San Francisco, California | Senior Associate
Civic Center Public Realm Plan + Mobile Outreach Station | San Francisco, California | CMG Project Page
Sunnylands Administration Campus | Rancho Mirage, California | CMG Project Page
Mission Rock | San Francisco, California | CMG Project Page
Irishtown Bend - Cleveland Flats Connections Plan | Cleveland, Ohio | CMG Project Page | Plural Project Page
The Commons at Headlands Center for the Arts | Sausalito, California | CMG Project Page
Park Habitat | San Jose, California | CMG with Kengo Kuma + Associates, Adamson Associates Architects, for Westbank
Irving Streetscape Vision | San Francisco, California | CMG with BKF Engineers for UC San Francisco
PWP Landscape Architecture
Berkeley, California
Glenstone Museum | Potomac, Maryland | PWP Project Page (Phase 2)
Constitution Gardens on the National Mall Competition | Washington, D.C. | PWP Project Page
William Rawn Associates, Architects Inc.
Boston, Massachusetts
Wheelock College Campus Center | Boston, Massachusetts | WRA Project Information