Melanie Chu

Melanie Chu Landscape Designer

Melanie is a landscape designer and planner fascinated by the ways our environments shape how we experience, understand, and connect with the world around us. Having lived in urban contexts across Hong Kong, California, Thailand, and the Mid-Atlantic, she approaches every landscape with a deep appreciation for the quirks, contradictions, and quiet histories that make each place unique. As a designer, she hopes to facilitate collaborative processes that inspire a sense of curiosity and wonder, deepen our relationship with place, and respond meaningfully to the communities that she serves.

Prior to Unknown Studio, Melanie worked as a planner at the nexus of transportation and climate resilience in California, and contributed to various design projects for schoolyards and public spaces across Pennsylvania. Melanie holds a Master of Landscape Architecture from University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies from University of California, Berkeley. Outside of the studio, she loves keeping her hands busy—whether it’s cooking up a delicious meal, throwing clay on the pottery wheel, crafting jewelry, or practicing her throws on the judo mat.