Aerial view of Lulu restaurant courtyard with native planting, market umbrellas, and hanging lanterns at the Hammer Museum, Westwood

View from Lulu dining room through native grass planting bed and tree canopy at the Hammer Museum courtyard, Westwood

Receding row of terracotta containers with native grasses and shrubs at Lulu restaurant, Hammer Museum, designed by CRAFT Landscape Architecture

Native container planting with sculpture and Hammer Museum architecture in background, Lulu restaurant courtyard, Westwood

Terracotta containers with native grasses and flowering Epilobium at Lulu restaurant, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles

lulu

los angeles, Ca

Lulu is Alice Waters' open-air restaurant at the Hammer Museum in Westwood, Los Angeles. In collaboration with Alice's team, we developed a planting narrative aligned with her commitment to regenerative food and place.

The entire site sits above a subterranean parking garage, limiting us to container planting throughout. Rather than fight the constraint, we leaned into it — celebrating two large existing evergreen elms with a kinetic understory of deer grass, and lining the restaurant perimeter with native perennials and groundcovers selected for their seasonal character and sensory presence. The result is a romantic, living threshold that greets and surrounds the dining experience.

Hand-drawn planting elevation for Lulu restaurant container garden, showing Arbutus, Heteromeles, and Cercis at arrival sequence, Hammer Museum

Design review meeting with CRAFT and Lulu team in the restaurant courtyard during installation, Hammer Museum

Lulu restaurant courtyard during installation with container planting and seasonal harvest display, Hammer Museum

CRAFT team directing tree placement during Lulu restaurant installation at the Hammer Museum, Westwood