Mia Lehrer

Q & A with Mia Lehrer, Landscape Architect

Posted: July 2009

Q&A with Mia Lehrer, Landscape Architect and principal of Mia Lehrer Associates, a leading landscape architectural firm in Los Angeles. We’re discussing efficient water use in landscaping and remodeling.

Mia, besides knowing you’re a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects and work in Los Angeles, I don't know much about you, can you tell us a little bit about yourself, your business and your background.

I’m originally from El Salvador so I grew up in a country that had tropical rain 6 months of the year. My father was in the building supply business so when I was young I would often go with him to construction sites where I developed my interest in building things, When I was older I studied planning at Harvard where I came to the realizations I didn’t want to be an architect, designing houses and buildings – that was just straight and restrictive. Luckily around the same time I discovered the work of Frederick L. Olmstead, who designed Central Park in New York and I figured out you could actually make a living designing landscapes rather than buildings. When I first moved west I started working in an office, but then I had babies so going back to work in the office was not working out. I started doing small gardens and then larger gardens and as my business grew I moved onto doing public works and school properties.

Looking at your web site, you're obviously committed to helping preserve the environment – can you tell us how your environmental concerns impact your work?

I feel that older civilizations such as the Mayans and Aztec and even early Americans had more respect for water and recognized that they needed to utilize rain catchment areas to gather and store water for future use, plus they understood that water was a finite resource. Nowadays it seems many urban citizens treat water as if the supply is limitless. They fail to recognize that our water supply isn’t infinite and how we return water to the ocean is important. Part of my work is to educate people on the realities of water and provide ways they can enjoy their property without wasting our water.

So, are people’s ideas about how to use water in their landscaping changing?

Yes, I believe that is happening. Whether it’s because of the fact people are travelling more and are exposed to new or different ideas or simply the fact that information on alternatives is easier to obtain, things are changing.

For example the example of an English garden with seasonal flowers or shrubs and definitely a less pristine look than we used to expect is gaining popularity. People seem to like to get little ‘surprises’ from their garden and the seasonal variations in a typical English garden help provide that.

As well, perhaps because of the economy or something else I don't know but people are becoming more rooted and living with their gardens. The idea of instant garden to help flip a house is becoming less common. This trend to staying in one place is leading to people growing productive gardens that are ornamental yet practical, since they can grow herbs or some of their own vegetables and even fruit.

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Have your developed any new of different remodeling techniques to help people make more efficient use of water?

Perhaps not new, but we are reusing old ideas where they make sense. For example, on one project we had a steep slope where water would quickly run off. To help conserve and use the water we built a series of French drains running across the slope to capture and relocate the water and prevent it from running away too quickly. It’s an old idea, but it still works beautifully.

http://www.homesavvi.com/article/q-mia-lehrer-landscape-architect

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