Mark Yin
Faculty, School of Landscape Architecture
Walt Disney Imagineering – Senior Landscape Architect
• Lead Landscape Architect – Adventureland, Hong Kong Disneyland
• Lead Landscape Architect – Main Entry and Hollywood Backlot, Disney’s California Adventure
• Additional Disney Projects:
o Cinderella’s Castle Forecourt – Tokyo Disneyland
o Raging Spirits rollercoaster attraction – Tokyo Disney Seas
o Hong Kong Disneyland Master Plan
o Disney’s California Adventure Master Plan
o Disneyland Paris Master Plan
Sasaki Associates – Senior Associate
• The Headquarters at Seaport, (San Diego, CA)
• Vista de las Montanas Student Housing (Cal Poly Pomona)
• Joseph E. Gallo Recreation & Wellness Center (UC Merced)
• University of Hong Kong Centennial Campus Master Plan (Hong Kong SAR)
• Wilmington Waterfront Development Master Plan (Wilmington, CA)
• The Huntington Master Plan (San Marino, CA)
Greenridge Studio + Workshop
• Eichler Home and Landscape Renovation, Castro Valley, CA
• Kipp Stewart Home and Landscape Renovation, West Hollywood, CA
• Custom Furniture and Fabrication – Shows and Commissions
• Retail Display Fixtures (Title Nine Sports, 14 locations nationwide)
• Modular Workstations (Title Nine Sports Corporate Office, Emeryville, CA)
Alameda County Arts Commission – Public Art Advisory Committee
• 2012-2020 (two four-year terms)
• 2024 – present (committee co-chair)
Soccer Coach
• Middle School – 2010-present (14 years)
• High School – 2018-2022
Endurance Sports
• Ultramarathons – Distances up to 100km
• Triathlons – Distances up to Half-Ironman
• Open Water Swimming
Education
- California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, BS Landscape Architecture
- International Study Abroad – Italy and Greece
What is the best advice you received that helped you get where you are today?
There was not a singular, memorable piece of advice that helped me; rather, there were years of nurturing my interests in art and design by three of my uncles who were landscape architects, and they each played a role in the development of my fascination with design and the landscape from an early age. While each uncle was very different from the others in terms of their professional priorities and strengths, they each guided me during conversations and by example. As a student at Cal Poly SLO, I would bring projects home during semester breaks and have mini reviews with my them, with countless other hours simply talking to them about the projects they had in their offices. While I developed my own interests in art and ritual, I was shaped by my uncles’ ideas, sensibilities and patience.
What was the biggest obstacle you overcame while pursuing your career goals?
The transition to the use of CAD programs in the industry was odd for me. My college and nascent professional career coincided with the advent of the use of computers in landscape architecture, but my professional skills training was all T-squares and pencils, mylar and pens. As a result, the first five or so years of my work experience as draftsperson was completely analog. To give you an idea of the technological context: at the time, AutoCAD was new but cumbersome (although advancing quickly); all correspondence was typed by clerical staff; and we were printing drawing sets using diazo machines. By the time I became more senior in the office hierarchy, I had only built on my strengths in a designer role using hand-drawing and sketching, meaning that the customary period of hands-on training as a draftsperson on a computer had passed me by. I, therefore, had to learn AutoCAD, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc., in bits and pieces under the periodic and opportunistic instruction of junior staff.
What is a resource you wish you had better utilized when you were a student?
Time is a resource, and as a student I wish I had managed my time more effectively. I took way too many units (my major courses, minor courses as well as courses of interest), and I maintained too many other activities (symphonic band, orchestra, soccer club). If I had a chance to do this again, I would maintain fewer academic units and extracurricular activities so that I could improve my performance in both.
Courses Taught
