Simone Drucker, Cert. ’21, started her own independent landscape architecture practice in July.

Her studio, Compound Eye Landscape Architecture, began with the wish to deepen her commitment to the art and craft of designing landscapes and gardens.

“From ‘desk to dirt,’ as a full process practitioner, I can assist with every step of the design and construction process,” she said.

“My practice is inspired by the beauty and ecology of natural ecosystems. I bring elements of regional biology — patterns, plant species and other materials — directly into private and public landscapes.

“The name ‘Compound Eye’ is a multi-reference; it is the distinctive eye structure of invertebrates (e.g., pollinators). It suggests landscape architecture as seen through a different perspective — a non-human one — paying respect to the life forms that activate and maintain [plant] life on Earth.

A graduate from the UCLA Extension Landscape Architecture Program, Drucker is licensed in the state of California. Her office is based in Santa Cruz and proudly serves clients from the Bay Area to Los Angeles.