ARTFUL. pragmatic. design.
Burkel Design Group is a boutique landscape architecture firm based in Solana Beach, California.
We practice the ideals of artful pragmatism - blending a deeply creative process with practical thinking to craft designs that are both beautiful and functional for everyday life.
With nearly two decades of experience, we center our work on reconnecting people and place—using landscape to weave nature back into the everyday life of our communities, with the goal of improving the well-being of our shared environments.
Burkel Design Group was founded in 2025 by Steve Burkel, ASLA. Raised along Northern California’s rural coast, Steve developed a deep love for nature and a passion for landscape design at an early age.
After earning his degree from UC Davis, he began his career designing residential gardens in Sonoma before moving to Southern California, where he spent nearly 15 years working on large-scale multifamily, commercial, open space, and residential projects.
Steve’s design philosophy is grounded in artful pragmatism—creating spaces that are not only beautiful but also deeply functional. He believes the best designs come from a genuine curiosity, a creative spirit, and a thoughtful connection to the surrounding environment.
we believe that Great design begins with curiosity
We blend a deeply creative process with practicality to ensure our designs are both beautiful and functional.
We ask questions—of our clients, our team, and the people who will experience the space—because every conversation sparks new insight and inspiration.
Every project begins with exploration—diving into research, studying the site, and uncovering the unique story of each place.
Drawing is central to our process. It helps us think, observe, and translate ideas onto paper. From there, we build on those foundations using modern tools like AI and 3D modeling to bring our designs to life—for ourselves, our collaborators, and our clients.
The result is a collaboration between artful design thinking and modern technology—producing work that is both thoughtful and visually compelling.
great projects combine creative ideas with a collaborative spirit.
We believe collaboration—with project teams, clients, and stakeholders—is essential to creating both beautiful and successful projects.
Solving problems and supporting our clients is just as important to us as great design, because we know that the best results come from working together.
Every project is a collective effort, shaped by the shared ideas and expertise of an entire team.
current and previous clients
With BURKEL DESIGN GROUP and Previous Firms
Bain & Co Construction
The Irvine Company
Greystar
Holland Partner Group
The Pegasus School (Huntington Beach)
Orange Unified School District
Carmel Partners
OC Parks
Toll Brothers Apartment Living
Streamline Development
TCA Architects
SCB Architects
MVE and Partners
JWDA
UC Davis
City of Sunnyvale
City of Irvine
Perkins Eastman
Fuscoe Engineering
Marcela & Logan Architects
PLSA Engineers
Kimco Realty