Land Office is a full service architectural firm
commited to good design and getting it built.
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Land Office clients benefit from our prior experience realizing major projects at high-profile architectural offices. Our goal is to bring that level of talent and professionalism to every project, especially local and community-oriented efforts. We strive for the best balance of the ambitious and the achievable in all our work.
Land Office is a woman-owned business. The firm supports local arts institutions and is proud to offer pro-bono services to local cultural and institutional non-profit groups as a part of its mission of good design for all.
Principal & Founder
Nora Gordon established Land Office in 2008 to leverage her skills in realizing complex, high-profile projects to benefit community-focused clients. As Principal, Nora sets Land Office’s high standards and is directly involved in all projects. Her design process combines creativity with pragmatism and emphasizes clear communication. Nora has a strong track record of successfully delivering both conventional and design-build projects. She is well-versed in building regulations and construction standards and addresses their implications from the start of each project. She works closely with owners, developers, and property managers on all phases, from due diligence, acquisition, and entitlements review to permitting and construction.
Before founding Land Office, Nora played significant roles in the design and construction of some of Los Angeles’ most notable new cultural buildings. Nora served as Gensler’s lead architect for their executive work with Diller Scofidio + Renfro on all interiors and building systems at the Broad Museum. As project architect for SPF:architects in association with Machado & Silvetti, she spent three years as on-site job captain for construction of the Getty Villa’s 125,000sf North Campus. While at Michael Maltzan Architects, Nora worked on major design projects for the UCLA Hammer Museum and the Museum of Modern Art’s interim location in Queens, NY.
Nora holds a BA in Art History and a Master of Architecture from Tulane University, where she was awarded the Outstanding Thesis prize in 2000. She is a licensed architect in the states of California and Nevada. She holds NCARB and CSI certificates, is a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the International Code Council (ICC) and is an accredited LEED AP BD + C design professional.
Project Architect
Sarah Ramsey joined Land Office in 2019. As Project Architect, Sarah oversees projects from the early design phases through phases through their completion. Her passion for design and its thoughtful execution, along with her keen eye for detail, allow her to move fluently between design and construction phases and interface effectively with clients, consultants and contractors.
Sarah’s 15 years of professional experience ranges from bespoke residential to large-scale cultural projects. Prior to joining Land Office, Sarah worked at wHY as a designer and leader of the firm’s IDEAS Workshop. In addition to her contributions on numerous mixed-use and cultural projects, she was an integral team member for wHY’s design competition entries including the winning Edinburgh Ross Pavilion and West Princes St Gardens, LA’s Pershing Square Renewal, and the Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art. A native of New York City, she spent 4 years working at Brooklyn-based CWB Architects (now The Brooklyn Studio) prior to moving West to pursue her graduate studies.
Sarah holds a B.S. Arch from University of Virginia. She received her M.Arch from University of California, Berkeley, where she was the recipient of the AIA Henry Adams Medal as well the 2014 John K. Branner Traveling Fellowship, a grant supporting a yearlong architectural research project. Entitled “Postwar Concrete Postscript,” Sarah’s project examined Brutalist architecture across the globe and its capacity for change and re-use. Her research has been featured in numerous publications, including the L.A. Forum Newsletter, as well as on the podcast 99% Invisible.
Sarah is a licensed architect in the state of California. She holds an NCARB Certificate, and is a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).
Project Manager
Kevin Altunian joined Land Office in 2018. As project manager, Kevin works closely with clients to facilitate pragmatic and clear design. His body of work consists of residential, commercial, and institutional projects ranging from single-family, to retail, to educational facilities. Kevin is also very well versed in expediting projects from initial submittal to permit issuance throughout various municipalities in the Southern California region. He has worked closely with design and development firms such as Studio Shamshiri, Bestor Architecture, RIOS, and LaTerra to complete permitting for projects that range from company headquarters to mixed-use developments.In addition to professional work, Kevin has participated in multiple publications. In 2021, his select drawings and writing were published in Utzonia, a collaboration celebrating the life and work of Danish architect Jørn Utzon. He has also formerly worked as a docent at the Neutra VDL House in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California.
Kevin holds a B.Arch from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona), where he was selected for distinction for his thesis project. He also participated in the year-long Architecture & Design program at the Danish Institute of Study Abroad (DIS) in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Junior Designer
Minn Maung joined Land Office in 2022. As Junior Designer, Minn collaborates with his team members on several projects in different development phases of various commercial and institutional projects.
Prior to joining Land Office, Minn worked at Long Beach-based firm RDC as an intern designer on the Place-Making Team, completing conceptual design and renovation packages for a luxury mixed-use development, The Glades in Boca Raton, Florida.
Minn received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Woodbury University.