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Merrill Morris Partners (MMP) is a woman-owned landscape architectural consulting firm with a 40-year history of delivering placemaking projects to private and public owners. We have offices in Oakland and San Francisco, but we serve projects throughout California. The diverse talents and depth of experience of our designers make our work efficient and effective. We listen, adapt, and communicate easily and often to best manage time and cost to the project. We naturally create innovative solutions with environmentally responsible designs.
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The heart of our practice is the people we work with: owners, clients, design teams, agencies, and communities. MMP’s landscape architects, planners, urban designers, and support professionals have the creativity and experience needed to meet design challenges and to successfully attain consensus and approvals. We take pride in working with multidisciplinary teams to bridge commercial and public interests. We contribute to the communities we serve by creating outdoor spaces that bring people closer to nature.
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Placemaking
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At MMP we are passionate about creating beautiful landscapes that are meaningful, engaging, authentic, and sustainable. We design outdoor spaces related to their regional context, resulting in well-adapted, efficient, and cost-effective landscapes that naturally evoke authenticity. When appropriate, MMP integrates the history and social traditions of an area to provide cultural integrity and connect the community to the legacy they have inherited and to the neighbors who share it. We enjoy highlighting the natural systems of a site to remind users of the wonders of nature and the environment.
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Technical Expertise
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MMP brings essential problem-solving skills to facilitate the design and construction of complex landscapes while meeting functional needs and available maintenance practices. Our construction documents are clear, complete, and buildable to facilitate a well-integrated design package. All deliverables are reviewed by senior staff to ensure quality control. In addition to traditional design services, we also have the graphic design and technical writing capabilities to create an effective entitlement package, visual resources analysis, develop facility standards, and create maintenance manuals for landscape elements such as stormwater facilities, irrigation systems, and plantings.
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Sustainability
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MMP is a strong advocate for sustainable design principles in all building projects. We use local materials, incorporate native and climate-adapted plants, reduce waste, and encourage biodiversity. In fire-prone areas, we produce landscapes that are defensible and firewise. We integrate stormwater planters, downspout splash gardens, and other best management practices to mimic the way nature slows, stores, and filters stormwater. We have experience implementing the following green sustainable rating systems: United States Green Building Council (USGBC) guidelines, Build It Green GreenPoint checklist, and the ReScape (Bay Friendly) Landscape guidelines.
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Durability
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Sometimes the most affordable design is not the cheapest; it’s one that lasts. It’s timeless, enduring, and resilient. MMP designs outdoor spaces that continue for decades to be elegant, durable, and easy to care for. Plants are selected for adaptability to the site and ease of maintenance. MMP designs projects that stand up to active use, respond to maintenance requirements, meet our clients’ needs, and are quality of life improvements for the people that use them.
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Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
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As a small, woman-owned business, MMP commits to building equity, diversity and inclusion into our strategic planning policy and priority setting. We commit to a bias-free hiring process while building equitable pathways to wealth-building opportunities for all employees. We support equity, diversity, and inclusion in our work through project selection: mitigating environmental degradation, adding green space to low-income neighborhoods, and meaningfully engaging communities.
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Woman-owned, Small & Local Business Certifications
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US SBA - SB
CA GSA - SB (micro)
CUCP/Caltrans - DBE, SWBE
CPUC - WBE
San Francisco - WLBE, Micro LBE
Port of Oakland - SBE, LIABE, VSBE
Alameda County - SLEB
ACTC - LBE, SLBE, VSLBE
VTA - SWBE
LA METRO - SBE
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