Office of Lou Arencibia is a landscape architecture and urban design studio advocating for site authenticity and contextual expression. Our projects are made with honesty and clarity to serve the people, nature, and functions that inhabit them. As a team with diverse backgrounds and curiosities, we share an openness to different ways of living and perspectives of space. We believe that meaningful design unfolds from strong relationships. Together, we seek to uplift people and places through the creative process.
Lou Arencibia founded OLA in 2018 in New York City. Since then, the office has grown to include a Miami studio that supports our work in North America, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia. Our portfolio spans all scales, from masterplans to waterfronts, parks, streetscapes, plazas, rooftops, and private gardens. Through our collaborations, we shape the experiences of public spaces, cultural destinations, hotels, residences, workplaces, and educational facilities.
Lou Arencibia LLC is certified by the National Minority Supplier Development Council as well as the New York City Department of Small Business Services as a M/WBE firm.
OLA IS A M/WBE DESIGN STUDIO
PEOPLE
Lou Arencibia, PLA
Founding Principal
Lou, the Founding Principal at OLA, stands at the intersection of architecture and landscape design. With over 20 years in both the professional realm and academia, he champions a holistic approach to design, focusing on a balance between big-picture thinking and attention to detail to enhance the dialogue around our built environment. Lou's background is punctuated by his tenure at globally recognized firms such as Bjarke Ingels Group, Office for Metropolitan Architecture, Land Collective, Raymond Jungles, Inc., and Rene Gonzalez Architect, setting a solid foundation for OLA's approach to creating impactful and sustainable design solutions.
Morgan Mangelsen, PLA
Senior Landscape Architect
Morgan is a landscape architect and horticulturist, with a MLA from the University of Minnesota and a BS in Plant Science. She is a Senior Landscape Architect at OLA, leading the design and development of a range of project scales and typologies. She has worked for the award-winning firms of Bjarke Ingels Group, Future Green Studio, and Cuningham Group Architecture.
Morgan Day
Marketing Manager
Morgan leads marketing and business development at OLA. With a background in writing, she crafts and communicates the story of the practice to help bring forth collaborations with clients, partners, and communities. Previously, Morgan worked on the communications and business development teams at BIG, on the marketing team at Adjaye Associates, and as a writer for ARCHITECT Magazine.
Kate Rogers, PLA
Associate Landscape Architect
Kate is a landscape architect and urban designer with a background in architecture. As an Associate Landscape Architect at OLA, she specializes in techinical detailing, materials research, and fabrication. Her project experience covers a range of scales and typologies, from transit hub masterplans and waterfront parks to intimate residential gardens and school campuses.
PROCESS
Our design process begins with uncovering the story of a site—past, present, and future. Careful research and analysis of environmental conditions, native context, and culture are all foundational to our work, influencing every step of a design from initial sketches to implementation. By taking a narrative-based approach, we invite our clients into the evolution of their vision. We broaden horizons, test assumptions, and craft novel spaces. At the macro-scale, we believe landscapes create cohesion within the complex networks of our cities. At the micro-scale, landscapes bind people to place and its vital, ecological processes. Every project at OLA emerges from these two objectives working in harmony.
