Mikyoung Kim, Founding Principal

Mikyoung Kim is the founder and design director of Mikyoung Kim Design. Her work is focused on bringing the science and art of resiliency and healthy living into the landscape experience. She is known for culturally significant designs that serve as a powerful tool to celebrate the beauty of the collective human experience. Mikyoung’s diverse background in design, music and sculpture has shaped her body of humanistic work, blurring the boundaries between the landscape, ecology and architecture. From large scale urban and waterfront parks to botanic gardens, her work reflects a deep commitment to memorable place making that captures the public imagination.

Throughout her career, she has crafted an exceptional body of work that has been highlighted in numerous publications, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, National Geographic, Landscape Architecture Magazine, Architectural Record, Dwell, Surface, Garden Design, and the Chicago Tribune. Mikyoung is a recipient of the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award and the ASLA National Design Medal. She was named by Architecture Digest as an AD Innovator and is a Fellow with the American Society of Landscape Architects. Mikyoung's firm has been recognized by Fast Company as one of the most innovative companies in the world.

A frequent international speaker, she has spoken at Yale University, the Gardner Museum, Stanford University and the National Building Museum in Washington DC. She has served on numerous juries including the Rome Prize jury and the Heinz Awards. Mikyoung currently serves on the Mayor's appointed Civic Design Commission in Boston. She has taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and is a Professor Emerita at the Rhode Island School of Design where she was awarded the college's Dean's Leadership Award. Mikyoung was trained as a concert pianist at Oberlin College and Conservatory, studied Landscape Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and public art at MIT. While at Harvard, she was an Olmsted Scholar and received the Norman T. Newton Prize and the Jacob Weidenman Prize.

Ian Downing, Associate Principal

Ian is an associate principal and is the technical director for the studio. He manages projects throughout their entirety, with a special focus on ensuring a smooth process from design development through final construction and implementation. At MYKD, Ian facilitates a dialogue between designers and builders to enhance landscape details and streamline the construction process. Ian appreciates how the design-build environment sparks rapid innovation, new construction methods, and material combinations. With an eye towards sustainability, he implements environmentally responsible design strategies and has extensive experience with LEED projects. Ian has lectured extensively on the importance of responsive and sustainable detailing including presentations at the national American Society of Landscape Architects Convention. A graduate of Wentworth Institute of Technology, Ian has a master’s and bachelor’s degree in Architecture.

Emmett Gregory, Senior Associate

Emmett is an associate and senior project manager. His experience with large waterfront public parks and urban renewal projects gives him the skills to lead design teams on many resilient focused planning projects across the firm.

Emmett is passionate about working with people to better their communities through design. He enjoys the creative process and believes first and foremost the design must be effective and address the problems at hand. At MYKD, Emmett helps to guide a team of designers on variety of projects from the Texas Medical Center research campuses to urban infill and public park spaces in downtown Boston.

At MYKD, Emmett helps to guide a team of designers on variety of projects from the Texas Medical Center research campuses to urban infill and public park spaces in downtown Boston. Emmett holds a Bachelor’s in Landscape Architecture from the University of Georgia.

Chloe Naese, Designer

From the Hudson Valley and the Berkshires to British Columbia and Bozeman, Chloe finds inspiration for design in the regional ecologies of the places she has lived. Chloe focuses her work on resilience and on honoring the local histories and ecologies. She received her BA from Montana State University and her MLA from the University of British Columbia.

Heejung Shin, Project Designer

Heejung is passionate about urban design projects that support resiliency, connect fragmented communities, and restore habitats and environmental systems. Heejung has worked and studied in both the US and Seoul, Korea giving her a unique outlook on ecologically and environmentally functioning urban landscape design strategies. She brings an interest in creating equitable, livable and resilient cities, with a particular focus on design-driven engagement and visual storytelling. Her work at MYKD includes masterplanning design for the Wellesley Science Hill Campus and resiliency parks in Boston in the Seaport District.

Trained as both an architect and landscape architect, she brings numerous years of experience in both fields to her projects. Heejung holds a master’s in landscape architecture from the University of Pennsylvania.

Bryan Chou, Associate Principal

Bryan Chou is an associate principal and senior design leader at Mikyoung Kim Design. Under Bryan’s leadership, the firm’s cross-disciplinary design process has been guided by a research-based ideology. Bryan has presented at numerous conferences, including the Greater and Greener Parks Conference and the Cooper Hewitt’s Design Symposium. Bryan is active in the local and national design community and has served as a jury member for the Philadelphia Airport Image Maker Competitions and the Boston Society of Landscape Architects’ awards program. He has also been a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Pathways to Inclusion.

Bryan is a registered Landscape Architect and holds a Masters in Landscape Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design and a B.A. in Environmental Planning from the University of Washington. He has taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and has been a guest critic at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Michele Chen, Designer

Michelle is interested in discovering and visualizing ethnographic cultures, ecological processes and psychological engagement in the design of communities in the public realm. She is interested in work that crosses boundaries between the various design professions. She has received awards from the BSLA and the International Design Ideas Competition for her project, "Reciprocal Living- Local Forest Coalitions"

Michele holds a Masters in Landscape Architecture and L.A in Urban Design from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a B.S. in Architecture with a minor in Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis.

Katherine Hill, Project Designer

Katherine is interested in biophilic design strategies that unify architectural elements with landscape architecture. She strongly believes in the physical, mental, and social benefits of re-imagining the relationship between the two disciplines and the sustainability opportunities therein. Additionally, she highly values the importance of teaching and volunteering as a medium for design exposure and likes to spend her free time volunteering in her local community.

She was trained as both an architect and landscape architect, gaining experience at several design firms across both disciplines. Katherine holds a bachelor’s in architecture and a master’s in landscape architecture from the University of Tennessee.

Jessica Hamilton, Senior Associate

Jess oversees the day-to-day of highly urbanized sites working from concept development to construction. She has extensive experience in managing complex teams and overseeing coordination of consultants throughout the life of a project. She is also the research coordinator for our research wing that is focused on neurodiversity.

Her professional experience has equipped her with the ability to think critically and perform as both a team leader and a strong collaborator. Jess is a registered Landscape Architect.

With a focus on health and wellness, Jess has contributed her leadership to the Ford Michigan Central Project and the first LGBTQ seniors housing campus in Massachusetts.

Jess received her bachelor’s degree in interactive marketing from the Fashion Institute of Technology and her master’s in landscape architecture from the University of Washington.

Alek De Mott, Project Designer

Trained as an Architect and Landscape Architect, Alek has a great interest and appreciation for a wide variety of design styles of the built landscape, with a particular interest in landscape’s connection to history. Alek is a research member of our research wing developing ways to integrate inclusive design into the projects in the studio.

Alek is a recipient of the Susan Nelson Fleiss Travel Scholarship supporting international travel for the purpose of research, design, or personal development.

Alek received his Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Virginia. In his free time, his passions include hiking, biking, and kayaking. He’s a former Potomac River guide in DC.

Kevin Moore, Accounting Manager

Kevin leads the studio's accounts while developing overall budgeting and financial planning and reporting. He works closely with our design leaders on billing and project financial planning. He has over 17 years of accounting experience in architectural firms in the Boston area. Kevin holds a BS in Finance and Accounting Management from Northeastern University.

Margaret Gerhart, Associate

Margaret believes that landscape design has the power to heal communities which have been historically bisected. As a senior project manager, she has worked on large scale urban developments and resiliency projects from coast to coast in the U.S. She is interested in work on cross-cultural sites, including an independent research study at the University of Pennsylvania on the Korean DMZ ‘Across Borders: Movement and Migration’, which she’s presented at the World Congress. Margaret has always been passionate about mentoring and uplifting BIPOC students within the design field, working with the Center for Architecture Foundation, Spark! and NAMLA. At Penn, she received the 2015 AIANYC Scholarship and the 2016 Anne Fisher Graduate Fellowship. She is the design manager for the Ford Michigan Central Mobility Platform and the Bal Harbour Waterfront Park.

Margaret holds a BFA in Industrial Design from Carnegie Mellon University with a dual Master of Architecture and Masters of Landscape Architecture and Planning from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a registered Landscape Architect in Michigan.

Jun Shi, Designer

Jun is an Architect and Environmental Scientist who is focused on material innovations with sustainability in mind. Her interests in her projects at MYKD are built off the research she did at the Yale Center for Ecosystem and Architecture where she developed prototypes for material studies in modular building. Jun received her Masters in Architecture from Yale University's. Originally from Shanghai, she embarked on her academic journey at William & Mary, where she focused on geology and environmental science. Since completing her studies in New Haven, Jun has been contributing to design research, working with the Yale Center for Ecosystem and Architecture.

Ryan Vorndran, Designer

Ryan loves working on innovative planting strategies, digital and physical fabrication, and intricate model making. With a solid background in landscape construction, he combines practical know-how with creative design to bring projects to life. Ryan enjoys exploring new digital tools within the design process while also valuing traditional methods like hand sketching and model building, believing that balancing the two methods can lead to interesting and unique designs. With experience in both design and construction, Ryan aims to blend ecological integrity with aesthetic appeal in all his work. His work at MYKD includes the design of a new Botanic Garden in Virginia and several Healthcare resiliency projects. He earned his Master’s in Landscape Architecture from The Ohio State University, where he built a strong foundation in landscape design and innovation.

Laura Pease, Designer

Laura Pease is a trained architect and designer with a focus on urban design. She is interested in the interface of climate change and human health and well-being. Laura is passionate about human centered design, focusing on connecting urban fabrics to their historical contexts through large-scale developments. Laura is currently working on the Ford's Michigan Central Park in Detroit. She received a Masters in Architecture from Wentworth Institute of Technology. Originally from Amherst, New Hampshire, Laura is eager to contribute to innovative resiliency strategies at MYKD.

Yufei Yan, Project Designer

Yufei believes that landscape architecture has the power to regenerate and transform the environment bringing about a positive change that builds unique connections between communities and their context. She gravitates towards the conservation of the natural environment to provide sustainable design solutions through a balance of urban development to coincide with nature.

At MYKD she’s contributed to the Michigan Central Park Masterplan project and the New Science Hill Masterplan at Wellesley College. She received her bachelor’s degree of Landscape Architecture at SUNY ESF and her MLA degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

Robbie Gaskins, Designer

Robbie Gaskins is an urban designer at MYKD and has been focused on both landscape architecture and urban scaled construction. He also served as a design-fabrication specialist. Robbie is currently working on the Botanical Garden of the Piedmont. Robbie has experience in both landscape design and architecture, having worked in the profession for the past few years. Robbie is a graduated from the Wentworth Institute of Technology’s Master of Architecture program and hails from western Massachusetts, where he enjoyed outdoor activities like hiking and fishing.

Abigail Williams, Administrative Assistant

Abigail provides administrative support through various tasks that include Human Resources responsibilites. She is passionate about community development efforts locally and around the world and aims to partner with communities, designing ever-improving systems that support holistic health for all. She has a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs.