Applications are Currently Open for All 2025 & 2026 Terms --- Intersession, Summer, Fall & Spring Application Fees Waived for Domestic and International Students Summer and Fall 2025 Apply Now
Karen YunJin Seong Acting Director School of Landscape Architecture
Karen Seong is the current Acting Director at the School of Landscape Architecture, Academy of Art University, where she advocates for under-represented students. She is a proponent of online education as a means to meaningfully diversify the architectural profession. Her pedagogy of examining identity formation in architectural spaces, published by Axel Menges, asks students to tell their personal stories through studio projects. Prior to teaching, she held leadership positions with Skidmore Owings and Merrill in New York and in San Francisco working collaboratively with large international teams on award-winning projects ranging from high-rises to institutional buildings in the US and in the Middle East. She has previously taught at UC Berkeley and has been a guest critic at various institutions in the US and in Korea. She holds a Master of Architecture with distinction from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture with high honors from UC Berkeley. She was born in South Korea and lived in Malaysia before immigrating to the US at age 19.
Selected two consecutive times as beneficiary on the exclusive group of International Professionals within the USCIS-Extraordinary Abilities Program (2021-2027)
Awarded with the Chilean National Commission for Science and Technological Research Grant (2017), the Communications ASLA Honor Award (2019)
Co-recipient of the Communications ASLA Honor Award (2019), and the Italian Architectural Rothoblaas Award (2011)
As a Landscape Architect and Associate Principal at Bionic, Pete has played a key role in the design and implementation of projects varying in scale from the 24 Acre LinkedIn Middlefield campus in Mountain View to the Museum of Craft and Design “Flashlight” Parklet, both of which received the ASLA Northern California Honor Award
Licensed Landscape Architect, California
Geraldine Knight Scott Traveling Fellowship, UC Berkeley
The Natural World 1: The Base
Survey of Landscape Architecture
Position: Online Instructor
I am a Licensed Landscape Architect and have enjoyed a fulfilling career in the landscape profession. I have worked on collaborative teams at Gates & Associates and Camp & Camp Associates in the San Francisco Bay Area. Both firms focused on creating inviting and immersive outdoor spaces with projects that focused on campus planning, urban design, city parks, streetscapes, and residential landscapes. In Nevada County, I worked with Bisnett Design Associates on community masterplans and residential projects.
I have enjoyed writing online LAN courses for the Academy of Art University and teaching online classes in the Landscape Architecture Department for the past 12 years. I strive to educate the next generation of working professionals in this field and set them up for success!
Volunteering for the SYRCL (South Yuba River Citizens League) Wild and Scenic Film Festival each year is inspiring, and I enjoy participating in the community effort that goes into hosting this event that promotes activism thru film and art.
