Collaborative Space Making

Founded in 2018, Space Open Studio is a Bay Area landscape architecture firm specializing in an ecologically sensitive and site specific approach.

Bobby Glass founded Space Open following a decade of professional practice as a landscape architect, water systems designer, project manager, construction manager, and artist. He previously worked at Hyphae Design Lab as a design lead on projects ranging from ecologically minded resorts, water conscious private residences, and innovative institutional spaces. Bobby holds a BLA from Clemson University and an MLA from UC Berkeley. He has taught multiple undergraduate design studios at UC Berkeley, UC Davis and USF.

Based in Oakland, Gita Khandagle is a Design Partner at Space Open. She brings a decade of experience designing and managing a variety of projects, including public plazas, residential gardens, hospitality spaces, playgrounds and institutional developments throughout the United States. She previously worked at acclaimed Bay Area firms Surfacedesign and Hood Design Studio. She studied Architecture and Sustainable Design at UC Berkeley and has taught landscape architecture studios at UT Austin, Cal Poly Pomona, and UC Davis.

Yu-Chung Li is a Design Partner at Space Open and resides in Berkeley. His diverse background in civil engineering, urbanism, and landscape architecture allows him to explore the complex relationships among humans and nature, science and art, and logic and intuition across various scales. With a focus on people, he believes that quality outdoor spaces are fundamental to supporting everyday life. Landscapes, in his view, are not merely beautiful backdrops for human activity but crucial drivers of transformative economic and social improvements. Yu-Chung studied Urbanism at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and holds an MLA degree from UC Berkeley. He has also taught design studios at the University of San Francisco.

Brianda Cerda joined Space Open as a Designer in 2022. Born and raised in the Mission District of San Francisco and a graduate of the UC Berkeley Landscape Architecture department, Brianda is a recipient of the Scott Traveling Fellowship. Her research is centered on the social and ecological sustainability of pre-colonial landscapes, practices, and Traditional Ecological Knowledge in reimagining landscape architecture as a more diverse and inclusive practice. Dedicated to educating and empowering students of color at all ages, Brianda founded Landscope at Berkeley, an organization introducing design to underrepresented high school students, and helped to start Healing Space, a space supporting and amplifying the experiences of students of color within the UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design.