Aerial Intelligence for AEC | Topographica, Santa Monica, CA



















T O P O G R A P H I C A



Aerial intelligence for AEC.

Keep teams aligned, projects
on schedule and brand elevated.


Project highlights >

topo-2604-land-001: 
67-acre restoration project with Landify US
Santiago Canyon / Orange County, CA / April 2026–Present /

Reconnaissance flight of the “Sully Miller Site,” near Orange, California, April 2026.
Reconnaissance flight of the “Sully Miller Site,” near Orange, California, April 2026.


Project description:
Since April 2026, Topographica has been backing Landify US to restore a 67-acre site located in Santiago Canyon, in Orange, California. 

Known as the “Sully Miller Site,” it served as a sand and gravel mine for almost a century (1919-1995), and has been the subject of several transformation plans since the 1970s. 

Landify’s vision consists of a green space for the local community to rest, exercise, contemplate, and ride horses, expanding Santiago Canyon’s green belt.

Topographica deployed aerial intelligence, ingested Landify’s CAD files, designed 3D artist views and flyover reels of the finished site, engaged in botany research to gently populate the site with plants native to our floristic region, and produced NIMBY defense before/after shots. 

The result? From CAD to SLO, we helped Landify US secured Maroyal and HOA approval, as well as a unanimous (7-0) city council vote in August 2026, all settling a 50-year history of competing visions for the site.
Project ID:topo-2604-land-001



Reconnaissance flight of the “Sully Miller Site,” near Orange, California, April 2026.
Reconnaissance flight of the “Sully Miller Site,” near Orange, California, April 2026.
Reconnaissance flight of the “Sully Miller Site,” near Orange, California, April 2026.
Reconnaissance flight of the “Sully Miller Site,” near Orange, California, April 2026.
Landify US Team walks the Sully Miller Site, Orange, California, April 2026.
Current entrance of the Sully Miller Site, Orange, California, April 2026.

3D artist’s view of the finished site populated with clusters of native plants. Lead 3D Artist: Kahin Vasi. June 2026.
3D artist’s view of the finished site. Lead 3D Artist: Kahin Vasi. June 2026. 
Before and after Landify’s CAD file ingestion and 3D modeling. Lead 3D Artist: Kahin Vasi, June 2026.
Before and after Landify’s CAD file ingestion and 3D modeling. Lead 3D Artist: Kahin Vasi, June 2026.
3D artist’s flyover along Santiago Canyon Road. Lead 3D Artist: Kahin Vasi. June 2026.
3D artist’s flyover along Santiago Canyon Road. Lead 3D Artist: Kahin Vasi. June 2026.

topo-2508-pa-001: 
T.E.U.C.L.A. Sculpture
UCLA Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden / Westwood, CA / August 2025 /

Richard Serra’s T.E.U.C.L.A. Sculpture, Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden, UCLA Broad Art Center, August 2025.


Project description:Topographica acquires aerial views of contemporary sculptor Richard Serra’s T.E.U.C.L.A. sculpture installed in front of the UCLA Broad Art Center.

Project ID:topo-2508-pa-001
Richard Serra’s T.E.U.C.L.A. Sculpture, Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden, UCLA Broad Art Center, August 2025.
Richard Serra’s T.E.U.C.L.A. Sculpture, Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden, UCLA Broad Art Center, August 2025.
Richard Serra’s T.E.U.C.L.A. Sculpture, Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden, UCLA Broad Art Center, August 2025.
Richard Serra’s T.E.U.C.L.A. Sculpture, Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden, UCLA Broad Art Center, August 2025.
Richard Serra’s T.E.U.C.L.A. Sculpture, Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden, UCLA Broad Art Center, August 2025.
Richard Serra’s T.E.U.C.L.A. Sculpture, Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden, UCLA Broad Art Center, August 2025.

Richard Serra’s T.E.U.C.L.A. Sculpture, Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden, UCLA Broad Art Center, August 2025.

topo-23-25-pa-001:
The Biophilia Treehouse
Encino, CA / February 2023–present /

The Biophilia Treehouse, Encino, CA, June 2025.



Project description: The Biophilia Treehouse is a UCLA Design Media Arts Counterforce Lab public art project directed by Professor Rebeca Méndez to grow a series of living sculptures offering birds a place to nest and thrive. 

Biophilia Treehouse is also conceived as an outdoor classroom, a community storytelling center, and a sequence of stepping stones designed to restore landscape connectivity across LA County.

The first Biophilia Treehouse was conceived and produced at the UCLA Design Media Arts fablab and installed in Encino, CA, on the grounds of the Holy Spirit Retreat Center stewarded by the Sisters of Social Service.

Project ID:
topo-23-25-pa-001
More info: https://counterforcelab.org/biophilia-treehouse

The Biophilia Treehouse, Encino, CA, June 2025.
The Biophilia Treehouse, Encino, CA, June 2025.
The Biophilia Treehouse, Encino, CA, June 2025.
Landscaping the Biophilia Treehouse with UCLA Ecology and Evolutionary Biology students, Encino, CA, February 2023.
Landscaping the Biophilia Treehouse with UCLA Ecology and Evolutionary Biology students, Encino, CA, February 2023.
Landscaping the Biophilia Treehouse with UCLA Ecology and Evolutionary Biology students, Encino, CA, February 2023.
3D Survey of Biophilia Treehouse, Encino, CA, September 2023.
3D model of Biophilia Treehouse, UCLA Design Media Arts, September 2023.


The Biophilia Treehouse, Encino, CA, June 2025.

topo-2403-ph-002:
Drones and L.A. Water Narratives
UCLA Design Media Arts / Winter 2024 /

Handbound book co-designed, printed and bound at UCLA Design Media Arts, March 2024.

Project description:Undergraduate class introducing drone photography, FAA regulations, sectional charts, weather, and drone flight and safety.
Students focused on the Los Angeles Aqueduct, a critical water conveying system that brings life to our homes and campus, from Sylmar, CA, to Mono Lake.

The class culminated in a 132-page book students co-designed, printed and bound at the UCLA Design Media Arts print lab.

This class earned Yogan Muller the 2024 UCLA Unit-18 Professional Development Award and was featured in the Spring 2024 UCLA SOAA faculty spotlight, and in the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability (IoES) magazine in July 2024.

Read:
• Spring 2024 UCLA SOAA faculty spotlight: https://arts.ucla.edu/single/faculty-spotlight-spring-2024/
• Interview for the ucla IoES magazine: https://www.ioes.ucla.edu/article/ucla-counterforce-labs-yogan-muller-publishes-book-on-la-aqueduct-following-cop21/
Project id:top-2403-ph-002
Project id:topo-2402-03-ph-002

Categories:Photography
4k video 
Infrastructure
Research
Reaching
Utilities
Slipcase, Drones and LA Water Narratives book, UCLA Design Media Arts, Winter 2024.
Book cover printed with white ink, Drones and LA Water Narratives book, UCLA Design Media Arts, Winter 2024
TOC, Drones and LA Water Narratives book, UCLA Design Media Arts, Winter 2024.
Double page spread, Yogan Muller’s water survey, Drones and LA Water Narratives book, UCLA Design Media Arts, Winter 2024.
Double page spread, Yogan Muller’s water survey, Drones and LA Water Narratives book, UCLA Design Media Arts, Winter 2024.
Double page spread, Yogan Muller’s water survey, Drones and LA Water Narratives book, UCLA Design Media Arts, Winter 2024.
Double page spread, Yogan Muller’s water survey, Drones and LA Water Narratives book, UCLA Design Media Arts, Winter 2024.
Double page spread, student work, Drones and LA Water Narratives book, UCLA Design Media Arts, Winter 2024.
Double page spread, student work, Drones and LA Water Narratives book, UCLA Design Media Arts, Winter 2024.
Double page spread, student work, Drones and LA Water Narratives book, UCLA Design Media Arts, Winter 2024.
Double page spread, interview with UCLA Deputy Chief Sustainablity Officer Bonny Bentzin, Drones and LA Water Narratives book, UCLA Design Media Arts, Winter 2024.
Double page spread, interview with UCLA Deputy Chief Sustainablity Officer Bonny Bentzin, Drones and LA Water Narratives book, UCLA Design Media Arts, Winter 2024.
Double page spread, Yogan Muller’s water survey, Drones and LA Water Narratives book, UCLA Design Media Arts, Winter 2024.
Inner spread of the back cover printed with white toner ink, Drones and LA Water Narratives book, UCLA Design Media Arts, Winter 2024.








topo-2402-03-ph-001: 
Drones and LA Water Narratives
UCLA Design Media Arts / Winter 2024 /

the cascades, sylmar, ca, february 2024.


Project description:
Drone footage Yogan Muller captured for the “Drones and LA Water Narratives” undergraduate class he led at UCLA Design Media Arts, introducing drone photography, FAA regulations, sectional charts, weather, and drone flight and safety.

Project id:
topo-2402-03-ph-001

Category:
Photography
Infrastructure
Teaching
Utilities
The Cascades, Sylmar, CA, February 2024.
The first LA Aqueduct, Jawbone Canyon North, CA, february 2024.
Second LA Aqueduct, Haiwee, CA, February 2024.
The First LA Aqueduct, Pine Tree Canyon, CA, February 2024.
The first LA Aqueduct, Jawbone Canyon North, CA, february 2024.
Best Available Control Measures, LADWP’s dust mitigation techniques, Owens Lake, CA, February 2024.
Best Available Control Measures, LADWP’s dust mitigation techniques, Owens Lake, CA, February 2024.
Owens River gorge, near Bishop, CA, May 2024.
Owens River gorge, near Bishop, CA, May 2024.
The Second Los Angeles Aqueduct, detail, Jawbone Canyon, CA, February 2024.
Concrete foundation, first Los Angeles Aqueduct, Pine Tree Canyon, February 2024.
The first Los Angeles Aqueduct, Bobcat Canyon, CA, may 2024.
The first and second LA aqueducts, Mojave desert near Warren, CA, February 2024.
The California and first LA aqueducts crossing near Neenach, CA, February 2024.

The Second Los Angeles Aqueduct, Jawbone Canyon, CA, February 2024.