Hollywood Roosevelt

Roosevelt Hotel Garden | Hospitality Landscape Architecture | Hollywood, CA
Narrative

Inspired by the relaxed glamour of classic Los Angeles and the iconic David Hockney pool imagery associated with the hotel, the Roosevelt Hotel Garden transforms the Hollywood Roosevelt courtyard into a layered hospitality landscape organized through tropical planting, meandering circulation, and intimate gathering spaces. Existing palms, lush garden planting, and open sightlines create a landscape that feels immersive, social, and distinctly Southern California.

Movement through the courtyard is intentionally informal, with pathways and seating areas woven between the hotel, pool terrace, and garden spaces to encourage exploration and connection. Rather than relying on rigid organization, the landscape uses planting, materiality, and spatial layering to create an atmosphere that feels relaxed, cinematic, and closely tied to the historic identity of the hotel.

Design Approach

Developed while working with Mia Lehrer + Associates, the landscape reinterprets the classic Southern California hotel garden through a contemporary framework that strengthens the relationship between architecture, planting, and outdoor social space.

Existing palms were retained and integrated into a new garden composition composed of citrus trees, flowering perennials, jasmine, layered foliage, and Mediterranean influenced planting. Accents of orange within the planting palette reference the historic citrus landscapes once associated with Los Angeles while reinforcing the lush character of the courtyard environment.

Circulation was designed to feel fluid and garden-like, with meandering pathways and intermediate gathering spaces connecting the hotel to the pool terrace. Within the palm grove garden, custom curved stone benches were integrated beneath the canopy, abstractly referencing the fluid geometry and movement associated with the Hockney inspired pool imagery.

Considerable attention was given to the detailing surrounding the pool renovation. Pool coping and edge conditions required careful coordination to satisfy health and safety requirements while preserving the soft curvilinear forms central to the design concept. Drainage was concealed through open joints integrated within the natural stone paving, minimizing the appearance of conventional trench drains and allowing the paving composition to remain visually uninterrupted.

Additional custom elements included cast concrete planters incorporating the Hollywood Roosevelt insignia and translucent corrugated resin terrace dividers that provide privacy between guest terraces while filtering light into the courtyard garden.

The result is a layered hospitality landscape that blends tropical planting, garden circulation, and contemporary detailing into an outdoor environment reflective of both the historic identity of the hotel and the relaxed atmosphere of Southern California living.

Role

Lead Project Designer, Construction Documentation, and Construction Administration in collaboration with Studio MLA. Responsibilities included landscape design, pool detailing and material selection, custom site furnishings and planter design, construction drawings, consultant coordination, and on site construction observation. Interior design collaboration by Dodd Mitchell Design.

Credits

Landscape Architect: Mia Lehrer + Associates
Interior Designer: Dodd Mitchell Design
Lighting Designer: Vortex Lighting
Photographer: Timothy J. Palcic