About

Design Services

Design

Full service landscape design for residential, commercial, and hospitality.
Hardscape, softscape, FFE (furnishings, finishes and equipment) and construction documentation.

Procurement

Sourcing and procurement of landscape furnishings and materials.
Custom furnishing and fabrication.

Construction Administration

Landscape construction management for ORCA designs.
Onsite plant installation management and post-install maintenance for ORCA designs.

Product

Mission

Our mission is to bring poetry to the construction of a landscape with beautiful and functional outdoor products. We source materials with a light footprint and a substantial story.

Product Ethos

1. Let the earth breathe

Designing a permeable landscape is not only vital to the garden's health, it is a beautiful relationship with the soil we tend to. When installed correctly, our pavers are inherently permeable by allowing rainwater to pass through to the earth beneath it to replenish the land's natural aquifers. Learn more about how our pavers are made here.

2. Proximity

We source our materials as close to the site as possible. Our products are designed with a low environmental footprint and lasting durability for outdoor living.

3. Living finishes

Our materials are designed to age beautifully with the inevitable changes of a garden. We honor earth's natural movements and the weathering of time, and see these materials as a part of this process.

4. Outdoor utility

Our products are made to be functional, not ornamental. The materials and style are designed to last from season to season. Silhouettes and joinery that are paired back to the essentials– nothing unnecessary and nothing overdone.

Studio ethos

Who we are

We are a female-founded landscape design and outdoor product studio based in Los Angeles and San Francisco. We use plants and natural materials in their rawest forms to re/connect humans with earth.

Mission

ORCA exists to create a world where we feel most human, designing functional landscapes and products that are thoughtful, warm, imperfect, and made from raw natural materials.

Origin

ORCA is part Oregon (OR): reflecting the roots of its founder, Molly Sedlacek, a second generation female landscape designer whose mother was a trailblazer in a primarily male dominated construction industry. The other half reflects California (CA) where ORCA is based and draws on its aesthetic: relaxed, substantial, raw, and local.

Design studio

Our designs balance permanence and impermanence. As salt oxidizes the metal and the wood silvers, we acknowledge earth settling in. Nature can appear permanent but only for a fragment of time just as light falls into shadow. Our goal is to support each material in its journey and foster its pattern by selecting the right materials for the outdoors and using it in a way that supports vision and function. When a landscape is complete, it is simply beginning.

1. Made by nature

We don't specify chemical sealants, stabilizers, varnishes, and often as little concrete as possible. This also means we do not use plastics including synthetic turf or artificial decking.

2. Beauty in imperfection

Underdone. Seeing the mark of the hand. One of a kind. Something you haven't seen before. Bespoke is better than mass.

3. Honest work

We are founded on a bedrock of hardworking hands. Respect for the craft and the skilled humans that bring our designs to life. We value paying more for products that are made by people we know.

4. Childlike curiosity

A feeling of childhood and always asking questions.

5. Intentional

Always designing with a human in mind. Designing with the earth in mind. Not adding more for the sake of more. Encourage sustainable materials sourced by responsible methods in close proximity. Thoughtful planting and consideration for drought tolerant constraints.

Careers

Open roles

We are continuously seeking team members to grow with us. Please send your resume to hello@orcaliving.com.