About
CommonGround Landscape Architecture, Inc. is a Santa Barbara-based firm founded in 2002 by Christopher A. Gilliland.
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About CommonGround
At CommonGround we specialize in residential, commercial, and civic design, construction administration/supervision, and public engagement. For more than 20 years we have been creating intelligent landscape design in the spirit of sustainability and green building through a comprehensive understanding of the many systems and elements at work in the landscape. Land stewardship and resource conservation are paramount in our design and in the construction process, and we emphasize use of drought-tolerant native, Mediterranean, subtropical, and succulent plants, as well as locally sourced natural materials.
In the end, we believe the success of a landscape or garden depends on the quality of user experience and the enhancement of the environment. Our goal is to create spaces that balance the man-made and natural worlds to provide a sense of calmness, harmony, and a place of respite from the increasingly hectic context of contemporary urban life.
Christopher A. Gilliland (CA Landscape Architect #4597) received a Bachelor’s Degree in Landscape Architecture from Ball State University in 1998 and relocated to Santa Barbara soon thereafter. He has 30 years of design/build experience in the landscape, including several years as both a landscape architect and contractor. Chris has completed a wide variety of projects, including hundreds of residences, native and food forest school gardens, sustainability and educational gardens, native gardens, commercial, multi-family, and low-income housing developments, in California, Arizona, New York, New Jersey, Indiana, Washington, Rhode Island and South Carolina. Chris has traveled extensively throughout the US, Europe, and beyond on research trips, and for leisure; but always with a passion for understanding what makes successful outdoor spaces work for people, how those places affect the local culture and economy, and the ecological impacts of man-made environments.
Mr. Gilliland is currently the Chair of the South County Board of Architectural Review (SBAR) and served on the City of Santa Barbara Architectural Board of Review (ABR) from 2008-2012. He was also the President of the Green Building Alliance (GBA) from 2013-2017 and a member since 2003.
Design Associate, and Cal Poly Landscape Architecture Graduate, Nakos Sarkar-Frandsen is on staff full-time. Joshua Monroy, with 35+ years of experience in the profession, also provides additional design and drafting services. Bonna Hamilton and Tracie Steele are CommonGround’s bookkeepers, Scott Walther is our accountant, with photography by Holly Lepere.