Contemporary Modern Landscape Architecture

We are a boutique design studio focused on delivering unique, custom-quality designs to clients by reflecting artistic sensibilities inspired by cultural elements such as landscape, architecture, painting, furniture, geography, music, history, and nature.

Our primary interest is to create a genuinely designed product while respecting the space's environmental impact on communities as they heal their day-to-day lives.

The Design Journey of Walter Ryu

Walter Ryu, ASLA, RLA, is an award-winning registered Korean American landscape architect with 32 years of professional experience in design and project management, strong expertise in design and construction, and a background in landscape architecture, urban design, planning, and civil engineering. 

At the University of Pennsylvania, Walter was awarded a scholarship upon entering the Master of Landscape Architecture program—selected under the legacy of Ian McHarg—where the foundations of ecological thinking and narrative landscape began to shape his design voice.

Walter Ryu's approach to landscape architecture is shaped by his early training with Laurie Olin and Robert Hanna, where he developed a strong foundation in public realm design. Olin, later awarded the National Medal of Arts by Barack Obama in 2013, exemplifies a legacy of thoughtful civic landscapes.

His perspective was further expanded by the influence of James Wines, whose experimental work inspired Walter's narrative and art-driven approach to design.

Walter was also one of Glenn Murcutt's graduate students, who later received the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize. Influenced by Murcutt's philosophy of site-sensitive design and modern architecture, Walter continues to integrate these principles into his landscape practice, emphasizing harmony between architecture, nature, and human experience.

After completing his study under James Corner (New York Highline project designer and 2023 ASLA Design Medal recipient) at the University of Pennsylvania in 1994 with a Master's degree, he was fortunate to collaborate with many notable landscape architects, such as Michael Vergason and the late Mr. James van Sweden from Oehme, van Sweden and Associates, in Washington, D.C. At Oehme, van Sweden, he worked on major design projects, including the Chicago Botanic Garden in Illinois and the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. His mentor, James van Sweden, received the ASLA Design Medal, the highest individual honor from the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), in 2010.

A Journey Through Design, Place, and Time

Before transitioning to Asia in 2008 to pursue continued design experience and further career growth in landscape architecture, he ran his own firm in Virginia for six and a half years, designing many high-end luxury residential landscapes while enhancing his skill set in design details and project management. He won two awards from the Tri-State Contractors Association for the residential design-build categories. It was a remarkable achievement for the minority firm to compete with larger firms in two years.

While learning from the notable American landscape architect Mark Mahan in Singapore, he gained exposure to additional international projects in India, the UAE, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and China. He learned from Mark Mahan, who designed the Four Seasons Hotel and Resort in Bali, Indonesia. The design collaboration experience was further enhanced with Cicada Ltd. The firm earned the most prestigious Singapore Presidential Award as the first LA designer. 

Rather than settling, the practice moves forward—seeking new landscapes across scales and typologies to research, shape, refine, and elevate the modern language of Walter Ryu.

Having completed multiple luxurious hotel and residential projects, he collaborated with Hassell, the largest architecture firm in Australia at the time. He and his team received the 2016 Australian national LA Award of Excellence in the International Design category for the Nanjing Tangshan Geological Museum in China.

The E Land Group, one of the largest retail giants in Korea, scouted him to design and build *the Kensington Saipan Hotel and Resort in 2015. He was stationed in Saipan for almost a year while studying tropical plants, and he performed design and construction tasks himself, in collaboration with the site team, to successfully deliver three water features and plantings.

He joined Heerim Architects and Planners, Korea's largest architectural firm, as Head of LA Design for its first Landscape Architecture Design team in Seoul, South Korea. He has won international competitions, including the KBS Future Broadcasting Office and the Korean Embassy in Australia.

Having briefly collaborated with ASPECT Studios in Shanghai, he decided to explore further opportunities in larger-scale public works and mixed-use commercial projects. He collaborated with AOYA L&A, the largest landscape architecture firm in China, as a design director at its headquarters in Shenzen before the outbreak of COVID-19.

*The Kensington Saipan Hotel project was published in the July issue of Landscape Architect and Specifier News magazine, 2021, for the Hotel and Resort special issue.

In 2025, Walter Ryu Studio was selected as one of five landscape architecture firms in Georgia in a LASN magazine special issue titled "LA Firms in the South."

Walter Ryu Studio delivers creative, innovative Landscape Architecture solutions in the Atlanta, Houston, and Miami metro areas, as well as other suburban communities in Georgia, Texas, Florida, Virginia, and Maryland.