Kikuchi + Kankel Design Group

What Kikuchi + Kankel Design Group does

Kikuchi + Kankel Design Group (KKDG) is a boutique landscape architecture firm founded in 1985 by Steve Kikuchi and headquartered in Half Moon Bay, California, with a second office in Los Gatos. The firm employs approximately 9 people and provides professional landscape architecture services across four practice areas: Residential Design, Corporate/Commercial Design, Recreational Design, and Institutional Design. Its client base spans private homeowners, commercial property owners, homeowners' associations and recreational communities, environmental nonprofits, and municipal governments throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Woodside, Sunnyvale, San Jose, Los Gatos, and San Francisco.

The firm uses standard industry design technology — AutoCAD, SketchUp, and 3D modeling — to support site planning, hardscape design, planting design, outdoor lighting, and recreational amenity design. Its notable technical differentiators center on California-specific sustainable practices (drought-tolerant native plantings, pervious concrete, locally quarried materials, water-conserving irrigation with weather monitoring, rainwater cisterns, and low-energy LED lighting) and a niche specialization in preserving historic landscapes designed by renowned mid-century architect Thomas Church. Representative engagements include the Peninsula Open Space Trust Headquarters in Palo Alto, the Parkmerced central recreation area in San Francisco (150 acres), the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation campus improvements, MacDutra Plaza in downtown Half Moon Bay, and multiple high-end residential estates.

KKDG operates on a project-based professional services fee model, with revenue derived from conceptual design, design development, construction documentation, and construction observation phases. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and varies by scope; some nonprofit and community projects have been delivered pro bono. The firm has since rebranded to Kankel Conroy Rose & Hill, with the original kkdesigngroup.com domain now redirecting to the new entity — a structural transition that the available data does not fully resolve. Marketing is primarily driven by project portfolio, community presence, and long-term referrals rather than active outbound demand generation, and the firm maintains a low-profile digital footprint (company website, Houzz, Facebook).

Name

Kikuchi + Kankel Design Group

Legal name

Kikuchi + Kankel Design Group

Website

https://kkdesigngroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Kikuchi + Kankel Design Group is a 9-person boutique landscape architecture firm founded in 1985, serving residential, commercial, recreational, and institutional clients across the San Francisco Bay Area with expertise in sustainable site design and historic landscape preservation. The firm has since rebranded to Kankel Conroy Rose & Hill.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Landscape Architecture Services

NAICS

Landscape Architectural Services (54132)

akta.pro primary industry

Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sustainable/Green Building & LEED Consulting (BPAHAKAG)

Keywords

• Landscape architecture services
• Site design planning
• Residential landscape design
• Commercial landscape design
• Institutional landscape design

Headquarters

HQ city

Half Moon Bay

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Landscape Architecture Design Services: Professional landscape architecture services for residential, commercial, recreational, and institutional projects. Revenue is generated through design fees, which may include conceptual design, design development, construction documentation, and construction observation services. The firm has provided services pro bono for certain nonprofit clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Kikuchi + Kankel Design Group is a landscape architecture firm providing design services from concept through construction observation across residential, corporate/commercial, recreational, and institutional projects in the San Francisco Bay Area. Offerings include site planning, hardscape design, planting design, outdoor lighting design, irrigation design, and recreational amenity design for private residences, commercial campuses, parks, and civic spaces. The firm has rebranded and now operates under the name Kankel Conroy Rose & Hill.

Product overview

Kikuchi + Kankel Design Group (KKDG) is a landscape architecture firm that has rebranded to Kankel Conroy Rose & Hill. The company provides landscape architecture and design consultation services across four main practice areas: Residential Design, Corporate/Commercial Design, Recreational Design, and Institutional Design. The firm does not offer a software product, SaaS platform, or technology product—the company specializes in physical landscape design services including site planning, hardscape design, planting design, outdoor lighting design, and recreational amenity design for projects such as residential backyards, commercial properties, parks, and institutional facilities. No distinct digital products, modules, or branded service offerings beyond the core landscape architecture service categories are present in the provided data.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Residential Design Landscape architecture services for private residences, ranging from small urban back yards to large estate properties; includes site planning, hardscape design, planting design, pools, outdoor living spaces, pool houses, outdoor kitchens, fire pits, and irrigation systems for homeowners in the San Francisco Bay Area.
• Corporate / Commercial Design Landscape architecture services for corporate campuses, commercial properties, and street frontage improvements for business clients in the Bay Area, including drought-tolerant native plantings and water-efficient irrigation (e.g., Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation headquarters).
• Recreational Design Landscape architecture services for apartment communities, HOAs, and recreational facilities, including recreation areas, sports courts, playgrounds, dog parks, community gardens, barbecue/picnic facilities, and outdoor exercise structures (e.g., Parkmerced central recreation area preserving Thomas Church's 1940s geometric layout).
• Institutional Design Landscape architecture services for nonprofit foundations, municipal governments, and civic institutions, including institutional headquarters design, civic monuments and gateways, city-owned parks, and open space preservation (e.g., Peninsula Open Space Trust Headquarters and City of Half Moon Bay gateway and plaza projects).

Quantifiable outcome

• Working with Peninsula Open Space Trust over 8 years to complete street frontage renovations including 8-year span of design development, approvals, permits, and construction observation
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Mark Thomas Civil EngineerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Working with Mark Thomas Civil Engineers and the City of Half Moon Bay on the South Gateway project. Collaboration involves intersection realignment, traffic signal design, and integrated site improvements for the highway entry statement.
• Jay Plett (Architect)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2017Architect Jay Plett (Plett Arc) designed the new pool house for the Los Gatos Back Yard residential project. KKDG collaborated on landscape design around the pool house structure.
• Canopy (Urban Forest Organization)minorOthers · 1 January 2015Canopy is an urban forest and tree planting volunteer organization based in Palo Alto. KKDG coordinated with Canopy for a ceremonial tree planting to celebrate completion of the Peninsula Open Space Trust Headquarters project.
• Half Moon Bay Beautification CommitteecoreOthers · 1 January 2013The Half Moon Bay Beautification Committee donated approximately 20% of construction costs for MacDutra Plaza city park project. Grassroots community effort supported approximately 40% of total project cost.
• Half Moon Bay Parks and Recreation FoundationcoreOthers · 1 January 2013Contributed approximately 20% of construction costs for MacDutra Plaza city park project as part of grassroots community funding effort.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• SWA Group: One of the largest landscape architecture and urban design practices in the U.S., with comparable services across institutional, civic, and recreational projects; operates at a much larger scale.

Direct peers

• Hargreaves Associates: Landscape architecture firm with strong portfolio in civic plazas, parks, and institutional work; comparable scope of services and similar client types in the public and private realm.
• Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture: Bay Area-based landscape architecture firm with comparable residential, institutional, and civic project mix; shares the same California-specific drought-tolerant and sustainable design focus as KKDG.
• OLIN: Multi-office landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm delivering comparable work to institutional, civic, and residential clients; provides direct competitive overlap on California projects.
• RHAA (Resource Design Associates): Northern California landscape architecture studio with comparable residential and recreational design work; competes in the same Bay Area market for residential estate and community projects.
• Surfacedesign: San Francisco-based landscape architecture practice delivering integrated site, plaza, and public realm projects; directly competes in the Bay Area for civic and institutional commissions.
• Arterra Landscape Architects: Bay Area and Northern California landscape architecture firm providing residential, commercial, and recreational design services; directly comparable in scale, geography, and service mix to KKDG.

Emerging players

• Page & Turnbull: Architecture and preservation firm with strong historic preservation expertise and landscape-related work, overlapping with KKDG's Thomas Church preservation niche and adaptive reuse landscape projects.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/timeline
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kikuchi-kankel-design-group

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 Kikuchi + Kankel Design Group