Wimmer Yamada and Caughey

What Wimmer Yamada and Caughey does

Wimmer Yamada and Caughey (WYAC) is a San Diego-based landscape architecture and environmental planning firm founded in 1954 by Harriett Barnhart Wimmer, making it the first woman-owned landscape architecture firm in San Diego. For seven decades the firm has provided landscape architecture, master planning, environmental planning, and public park design services to institutional clients (notably a 20-year campus planning engagement at UC San Diego), public agencies (San Diego Port District, California Coastal Commission), hospitality/resort operators (SeaWorld, Seaport Village, Embarcadero Marina Park), and high-end private residential clients, with historical work extending into Phoenix, China, and the UAE. Its core capability rests on the design expertise of its principals — Wimmer, Joe Yamada, and Pat Caughey — each of whom achieved ASLA Fellowship, and on an extensive portfolio of landmark San Diego projects. The firm is privately held by Pat and Jenny Caughey, who acquired ownership in 1995.

The firm operates as a professional services practice rather than a technology or product company, with go-to-market conducted through direct engagement, architect referrals, and a portfolio website. Its three principals across its history built the firm's reputation through design awards (including the 2011 ASLA National Landmark Award for the San Diego River Project) and by training an outsized share of San Diego's subsequent generation of landscape architects. The firm is currently not accepting new landscape architecture projects and is available only for educational consultation and non-profit/volunteer community work, indicating a deliberate wind-down of active commercial operations while ownership preserves the legacy brand and institutional relationships.

Name

Wimmer Yamada and Caughey

Legal name

Wimmer Yamada and Caughey

Website

https://wyac.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1954

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Wimmer Yamada and Caughey is a privately held San Diego landscape architecture firm founded in 1954, serving institutional, public-sector, hospitality, and high-end residential clients. Currently not accepting new projects, it offers only educational consultation and volunteer community engagement.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Landscape Architecture Services

NAICS

Landscape Architectural Services (54132)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Urban Planning & Master Planning (BPAHAKAD), Commercial Landscape Design & Installation (HSAIABAJ), Residential Landscape Design (HSAIABAA), Regional & Land Use Planning (BPAHAKAE)

Keywords

• Landscape architecture services
• Environmental planning
• Master planning
• Public park design
• Urban design

Headquarters

HQ city

Encinitas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Wimmer Yamada and Caughey is a professional landscape architecture firm offering comprehensive design and planning services. The firm's core work includes residential garden design, commercial and urban landscape design, master planning for campuses and large developments (including a 20-year tenure on UC San Diego campus planning), environmental planning, and public park and waterfront design such as SeaWorld, Seaport Village, Embarcadero Marina Park, and Freedom Park at Burnham Navy Pier. While the firm is not currently accepting new landscape architecture projects, it remains available for educational consultation services in business development and across its practice areas.

Product overview

Wimmer Yamada and Caughey is a landscape architecture firm offering a unified suite of design and planning services rather than a modular software product. The firm's core offerings center on landscape architecture (residential gardens, commercial landscapes, urban design), environmental planning, and master planning for campuses and large developments. Their portfolio includes landmark San Diego projects such as SeaWorld, Seaport Village, Embarcadero Marina Park, and Freedom Park at Burnham Navy Pier. The firm also provides educational consultation services in business development. As a service-based practice rather than a technology product company, all offerings are professional services delivered through direct client engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Landscape Architecture Services Comprehensive landscape architecture services for institutional, hospitality, public, and high-end residential clients, including residential garden design, commercial landscapes, urban design, and landform/hardscape features. Targeted at architects, developers, universities, and public agencies seeking prestige landscape design.
• Environmental Planning Environmental planning services encompassing site analysis, ecological considerations, and sustainable design practices for landscape projects. Designed for institutional and public-sector clients needing ecological input integrated with landscape architecture.
• Master Planning Long-range development planning for campuses, communities, and large-scale developments, exemplified by the firm's 20-year tenure of campus planning at UC San Diego. Geared toward universities, large institutions, and developers requiring multi-year master planning engagements.
• Public Park Design Design of public parks and waterfront spaces including landmark San Diego projects such as SeaWorld, Seaport Village, Embarcadero Marina Park, and Freedom Park at Burnham Navy Pier. Targeted at public agencies, port districts, and institutional clients delivering major public realm projects.
• Educational Consultation Services Consultation services in business development and a spectrum of practice areas; offered to clients and learners while the firm is not currently taking on new landscape architecture projects. Aimed at professionals and organizations seeking expert advisory from senior practitioners.

Quantifiable outcome

• 70% reduction in parking spaces with 7-acre public park created through Freedom Park design negotiations with California Coastal Commission

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• USS Midway MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Freedom Park at Burnham Navy Pier project. Mac McLaughlin (CEO - USS Midway, Retired) worked with Pat Caughey and Dennis Otsuji to develop the park design. The new bayside park was a condition of agreement between the USS Midway, San Diego Port District, and the California Coastal Commission.
• San Diego Port DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the trilateral agreement with USS Midway and California Coastal Commission for Freedom Park development. The agreement in 2004 allowed the historic aircraft carrier to be berthed at the historic Navy Pier.
• California Coastal CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThree years of design options and negotiations with coastal commission staff resulted in the reduction of 70% of existing parking spaces and the creation of a seven-acre public park. In 2023 the park design was completed and approved by unanimous vote.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• SWA Group: Large, established landscape architecture, urban design, and planning practice with deep public-sector and waterfront portfolios. Comparable to WYAC in master planning and public realm work, but operates at national scale across multiple offices.
• Olin (OLIN Studios): National landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm with a strong portfolio in cultural, academic, and waterfront projects. Comparable to WYAC in landmark-project caliber and institutional client base, though significantly larger and multi-office.

Direct peers

• KTU+A: San Diego-based landscape architecture and planning firm founded by Frank Kawasaki and Mike Thilaker, both alumni of Wimmer Yamada and Caughey. Direct peer in the same San Diego market, serving institutional and public-sector clients with comparable campus and urban design services.
• Garbini & Garbini Landscape Architects: San Diego-area landscape architecture firm founded by Rick and Gail Garbini, both alumni of Wimmer Yamada and Caughey. Direct peer in the same regional market with similar high-end residential and institutional positioning.
• Teshima Design Group: San Diego-based landscape architecture firm founded by Ron Teshima, another Wimmer Yamada alumnus. Direct peer in the local San Diego market with similar institutional and residential client base.
• Marum & Associates: San Diego landscape architecture firm founded by Marian Marum, another WYAC alumnus. Direct peer in the same regional market with overlapping expertise in campus, residential, and public project design.

Regional players

• Arcadia Studios (formerly Land Concern): San Diego-based landscape architecture practice with strong municipal and public park portfolio. Comparable to WYAC's public park and waterfront work such as Embarcadero Marina Park and Freedom Park.
• Spurlock Landscape Architects: Southern California landscape architecture firm focused on resort, hospitality, and residential master planning. Comparable to WYAC's hospitality and high-end residential segment, including La Jolla and coastal resort work.
• RHA Landscape Architects: California-based landscape architecture firm with extensive work in campus planning, public open space, and waterfront design. Comparable to WYAC's institutional and campus planning capabilities, particularly the UC San Diego campus planning legacy.
• Pulitzer Ozhe Arnold: San Diego-based landscape architecture and planning firm with a strong portfolio in civic, campus, and waterfront projects. Comparable to WYAC in master planning, public space design, and San Diego regional institutional work.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PL_Y_ZRCpbyNH8gwgBBZwOUDCsOrNBYlEY&si=uWh2V7x1sUawlK2R
• Xx.com/wyac_land_arch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wimmer Yamada and Caughey