Pictured here are LPA Design Studios Founder Leason Pomeroy (left) with business partner Robert Egan, who ran the LPA Taiwan office, and brother Lynn Pomeroy (right) in a photo from 1978.  For more than 60 years, Leason has dedicated his work to improving the architecture across Orange County and the country.

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LPA Design Studios

The nation’s highest architectural honor has come home to Orange County, where Irvine-based LPA Design Studios—a firm that began in a spare bedroom in Old Towne—received the 2025 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Architecture Firm Award.  The award celebrates a legacy that began with founder Leason Pomeroy III, whose journey from local paperboy to novel architect has shaped Orange County’s landscape for more than six decades.

Born and raised in Orange, Pomeroy’s connection to the city runs deeper than his architectural legacy.  As a boy, he delivered papers for the Orange Daily News, which now houses Starbucks and is one of many Plaza properties he owns today.  After 34 years of running LPA, he sold it in 1999 but spun out a one-man design firm focused on Orange County-based projects.

“The architecture of Old Towne is unlike any other,” says Pomeroy.  “Though companies have come and gone here, there is still so much history and a great mix of old and new architecture that makes this city different.”

Those early morning Old Towne routes and prepping papers in what was once known as the Plaza’s Newsboy Alley, right outside the Orange Daily News building, shaped his work drive.  Pomeroy set a solid example for leadership in his family, even inspiring his two younger brothers to follow his path into architecture and join the firm.

His natural artistic talent led him to pursue a fine arts degree from Arizona State University after serving in the military, followed by an architecture degree from the University of Southern California. After earning his chops as an intern at various companies, Pomeroy was ready to start his own firm.

“One of the first substantial projects I worked on was the Orange County International Raceway,” says Pomeroy.  “Years later, the development of the county was starting to boom, and I was able to get some great commissions across the area, so we grew and grew.”

His portfolio expanded to include landmark projects like the Thomas F. Riley Terminal at John Wayne Airport.  Under his leadership, LPA grew beyond Orange County, achieving more than 300 design awards and establishing offices in Taiwan, Seattle, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

“The way our company was, we were very close-knit, which was integral to our success,” he says.  “That bond built our design culture and inspired many of our employees to establish their own successful practices across Orange County.”

Today’s LPA CEO Wendy Rogers reviews design plans with senior leaders. Pictured (from left) are Jeremy Hart, Director of Civic + Cultural; Wendy Rogers, CEO and CTO and Rick Wood, formerly Director of Healthcare (retired 2021).

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That culture continues at LPA today.

“Leason created a firm with an amazing culture and a passion for design, but also a company that cares about its people,” says current LPA Chief Executive Officer Wendy Rogers, who started with the firm as an intern in Old Towne 37 years ago. “I look at how the firm has evolved, and we have built on this foundation where design matters.”

The modern LPA expanded to an integrated firm with more than 400 engineers, landscape architects, interior designers and planners.  They’ve maintained deep local roots through projects like the Villa Park High School campus and the expansion of Irvine’s Hoag Hospital.

For Pomeroy, the greatest reward of his work is not the myriad of awards or prestigious commissions he has secured but the tangible impact.

“It’s so special to walk through Orange and see buildings that started as sketches on my desk,” he says.  “That feeling is irreplaceable.”

Not one to retire after selling his firm, Pomeroy now focuses on private residences and local commercial buildings, including a 30,000-square-foot home he designed for bestselling author Dean Koontz in Newport Beach.  He also partners with local broker Al Ricci to purchase and renovate Old Towne properties.

Pomeroy’s architectural fingerprints are everywhere in the county.  If you’ve ever visited The Courtyard in Old Towne with Zito’s Pizza and the newly-opened Long Dog Coffee, or CHAAK Kitchen in Tustin, you have also seen his designs come to life.