Landscape Architecture
Landscape architecture shapes the spaces between and around buildings—gardens, plazas, parks, streetscapes, and territorial landscapes. At atelier ribo+, our dedicated Landscapes department approaches every project as an opportunity to enhance ecological function, cultural meaning, and human experience simultaneously.
What We Do
Our landscape practice spans scales from intimate private gardens to regional landscape strategies. We design spaces that support biodiversity, manage water sustainably, create comfortable microclimates, and provide settings for social life. Every project responds to its specific climate, ecology, and cultural context.
Services include:
• Private gardens and residential landscapes
• Public parks and urban plazas
• Streetscape and public realm design
• Green infrastructure and stormwater management
• Ecological restoration
• Landscape masterplanning
• Planting design and specification
• Landscape heritage conservation
Our Approach
We understand landscape as living infrastructure—dynamic systems that provide ecological services while accommodating human activity. Our designs work with natural processes rather than against them: capturing and infiltrating rainwater, supporting pollinators and wildlife, moderating temperature extremes, and sequestering carbon.
The Landscapes department, led by Sara Anzi, brings specialized expertise in regional plant palettes, sustainable materials, and maintenance-conscious design. We create landscapes that mature gracefully and require minimal inputs over time.
Regional Expertise
Alpine and Pre-Alpine Contexts
Switzerland's varied topography demands landscape solutions responsive to altitude, aspect, and microclimate. We work extensively in Ticino's sub-Mediterranean conditions as well as the harsher climates of higher elevations.
Mediterranean and Atlantic Portugal
Our Douro Valley office brings expertise in Portuguese landscape traditions, drought-tolerant planting, and the integration of landscape with wine tourism and agricultural heritage.
Urban Conditions
City landscapes face particular challenges: compacted soils, heat island effects, pollution, and intensive use. We design robust urban landscapes that thrive despite these pressures while providing maximum benefit to residents.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you approach sustainability in landscape design?
Sustainability is embedded in our practice through: native and climate-adapted planting that requires minimal irrigation and no pesticides; permeable surfaces and bioswales for stormwater management; local and recycled materials; and designs that minimize long-term maintenance requirements. We calculate carbon footprints for major projects.
Do you design private gardens?
Yes. Private gardens represent an important part of our practice. We approach residential projects with the same design rigor as public commissions, creating gardens that reflect client lifestyles while contributing to neighborhood ecology and streetscape quality.
Can landscape architecture be integrated with building projects?
Absolutely—and this integration is one of atelier ribo+ core strengths. Because we practice architecture and landscape architecture under one roof, we achieve genuine integration from project inception. Landscape is never an afterthought in our building projects.
What is green infrastructure?
Green infrastructure refers to natural and semi-natural systems that provide services traditionally delivered by engineered solutions: green roofs and walls for building performance, bioswales and rain gardens for stormwater management, urban trees for cooling, and ecological corridors for biodiversity. We design green infrastructure at building, site, and district scales.
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Write us to [email protected]