Our Team
Christopher Esteban Torres
Founder
Contact: chris@agencyartifact.com
Chris is an award winning landscape architect and urban designer creating public spaces that merge extraordinary experiences, everyday culture and resilient systems.
He has over a decade of domestic and international experience creating projects ranging from urban and ecological systems to site specific interventions. Prior to founding Agency Artifact, he was a co-founder at Superjacent and has lead projects at Rios Clementi Hale Studios, Walt Disney Imagineering, Skidmore Owings & Merrill and the public art program at LA METRO. Chris was a Design Principal at the Jerde Partnership and served as a Vice President for the organization with over a 100 designers working around the world.
Beyond his work as a practitioner, he was a visiting researcher of Urban Design at the Queensland University of Technology, lecturer in Landscape Architecture and Urbanism at USC, Vice President of the LA Forum for Architecture and Urban Design, member of Mayor Garcetti’s Great Street’s design advisory committee and served on the Board of Directors of the Landscape Architecture Foundation. He is currently a Planning Commissioner for the City of Los Angeles.
He received a BA in Urban Studies from Loyola Marymount University, NY/P program in Urban Design at Columbia University GSAPP and MLA from UC Berkeley where he co-founded the GROUND UP Journal. Chris serves on the board of directors for LA Commons.
Melanie Buffa
Senior Designer
Contact: melanie@agencyartifact.com
Melanie is a senior landscape designer with extensive construction documentation and administration experience, leading the implementation of projects ranging from public, multi-family housing and custom estates through-out Southern California.
She brings a deep knowledge of all aspects of horticulture and ecology of the varied climates of California. Prior to practicing in top design firms in both Central and Southern California, Melanie worked for large scale landscape contractors and commercial nurseries collaborating with designers and builders on complex landscape installations. Melanie’s deep passion for help communities transform through access to sustainable landscapes can be seen in all of her work
She received a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and serves as the President of Southern California ASLA
Viraj Chauhan
Designer
Contact: angela@agencyartfiact.com
Angela is a dynamic designer, inspired by the connection between nature, people, and wellbeing, and driven by a commitment to excellence. Her background in rigorous research projects in both academic and professional settings have made her an invaluable team member on several projects - bringing an ever-curious, others-centric mindset fueled by a strong internal motivation to learn and create. Angela has worked with diverse teams in both public and private organizations; experiences that offer a critical and creative lens to a wide range of design challenges and solutions. As a Landscape Architect, her goal is to create meaningful and enduring contributions to the built environment, ones that harmonize with their surroundings and enrich both human and nonhuman lives.
Angela holds a BA in Landscape Architecture from UC Berkeley.
Miriam Bar- Zemer
Growth & Strategy Leader
Contact: miriam@agencyartifact.com
Miriam is an Urban Planner, Researcher and Policy expert working in the fields of resiliency, climate adaptation, public space and community empowerment. Miriam is the Project Manager for the Festival Trail, an innovative mobility, public space and resiliency project to create a Games for All during the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games and beyond. Miriam was previously a researcher at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, researcher at TreePeople and worked in global education at the Institute for Field Research.
Miriam holds a Master of Urban and Regional Planning at UCLA , BA in Environmental Studies from Oberlin College and training in Environmental Design from UC Berkeley
Angela Clearwater
Senior Designer
Contact: viraj@agencyartifact.com
Viraj brings a unique blend of architectural, landscape and urban planning experience both in the U.S. and internationally. He is devoted to crafting sustainable and inclusive spaces, breaking free from traditional constraints and positively influencing those who inhabit them. Utilizing strategies derived from mapping, research, and community-centric design, Viraj implements inventive approaches for sustainable urban solutions. His projects integrate nature, space, and built systems seamlessly, laying the foundation for a robust and captivating global future achieved through resilience and unity.
Viraj holds a Master of Landscape Architecture and Urbanism from USC and B.Arch in Architecture from NMIMS, Balwanth Sheth School of Architecture (BSSA).
