David Hertz Architects, operating as the Studio of Environmental Architecture (SEA), is a full-service green architecture and design firm. David Hertz Architects has over 40 years of experience creating sustainable and regenerative spaces and decades of expertise in disaster recovery and rebuilding, including those following the Green Meadows Fire, Woolsey Fire, and Thomas Fires. Our fire rebuild work spans Los Angeles and Ventura Counties and communities such as Malibu, Ventura, and Pacific Palisades, providing expertise in navigating insurance claims, entitlement processes, and expedited permitting. The work of David Hertz Architects emphasizes innovative design techniques, home hardening, and materials that can help to protect against damage or destruction from wildfires. Through thoughtful design focusing on resilience and climate adaptation and specializing in regenerative and adaptive systems, David Hertz Architects aims to strengthen the built environment against an increasingly challenging natural world.

Our design approach combines timeless principles of architecture—light and shadow, form and material, proportion and scale—with contemporary innovations. Each project represents a unique architectural expression, where design harmonizes diverse crafts and sciences into cohesive, performance-driven systems. Beyond buildings, David Hertz Architects engages in industrial design, public sculpture, and materials research, fostering a versatile and interdisciplinary design culture.

With expertise in residential and commercial projects throughout Southern California and worldwide, our work is dedicated to designing and building restorative places for people and the planet. By designing with nature, we craft architecture that embodies enduring value while responding to client needs, site specificities, and local climates.

SEA specializes in regenerative design, sustainability, and resilience, particularly in addressing the environmental challenges of the Anthropocene. Our in-house think-tank, Resilience Lab, advances green technologies and supports communities in planning for environmental volatility. By integrating adaptive systems and sustainable practices, we aim to reverse global climate change and harden the built environment against increasingly hostile natural forces. Enlightened architecture can heal people and restore ecosystems, achieving a symbiosis between the built and natural worlds.

Through our commitment to resiliency, regenerative design, and climate adaptation, David Hertz Architects creates spaces that are not only sustainable but transformative, ensuring they endure as sources of inspiration and resilience for generations to come.

David Hertz, FAIA, LEED AP

David has been working at the edge of sustainability and the forefront of regenerative architecture for 40 years. As a systems thinker, he engages in various fields through design and believes in expanding the conceptual limits of architecture. Throughout his career, David has connected the art of building with responsible stewardship of the Earth. In the 1980s, David invented Syndecrete, a lightweight, durable, and environmentally responsible alternative to concrete. A LEED-accredited professional and a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA), David serves on the board of Heal The Bay. He has taught sustainable design while mentoring students at his alma mater, SCI-Arc, Art Center College of Design, and USC. He currently serves on the Academic Advisory Committee for UCLA’s Extension Program.

David grew up between Venice and Malibu and has a deep connection to both communities. After living and working in Venice for decades, David has been calling Malibu home for the past decade. His connection to Malibu spans over 40 years, with his family’s roots in the community reaching back to the 1940s. David’s grandfather and father built the Western Town at the Paramount Ranch in Santa Monica Mountains using old prop storage sheds and a lot of imagination. Unfortunately, Paramount Ranch burned in the 2018 Woolsey Fire, but David continues the Hertz family tradition by assisting the fire rebuild through architectural and administrative support.

David’s expertise with fire rebuilds is not just professional but deeply personal. His family’s long-standing presence in the area and his own experiences living and working in this fire-prone region have shaped a profound commitment to rebuilding and protecting homes after wildfires and understanding the unique challenges and emotional toll that fire devastation brings. His fire rebuilds in Ventura and Malibu are testaments to his dedication to helping families and individuals rebuild their lives with safety, sustainability, and design excellence at the core. As a Class 1 Wildland Firefighter and one of the members of the Los Angeles County Fire Brigade, a pilot program aimed at enhancing community resilience to wildfires in Firewise Communities, David has acquired more experience with fire rebuilds than he would have ever wished. Years after the Woolsey Fire devastated their community, David remains committed to helping friends and neighbors rebuild their homes and lives and focuses on making communities more resilient through design.

A lifelong passion for surfing has made David active in environmental, water quality, and water access issues. He and his wife Laura founded Skysource to democratize water, and their efforts culminated in winning the Water Abundance XPRIZE in 2018. In 2022, the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum awarded David the National Design Award for Climate Action. He is also the co-founder of the Resilience Fund for Advancing Climate Technologies and a founder of the Resilience Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that offers products and solutions to combat some of the world’s greatest challenges.

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