Studio
LLA is a landscape architecture and research practice based in Rotterdam, NL. We operate at the intersection of urban strategy and ecological unruliness. Our work explores "Wilderness by Design" - the deliberate curation of natural processes to create resilient, adaptive, and poetic environments within the built world.

Wilderness by Design


The era of the manicured lawn is over. We believe that the most functional landscapes are those that embrace complexity. Wilderness by Design is not abandonment, it is a highly calibrated act of curation. We design the hard frameworks - the soil, the water systems, the paths, the edges - that allow the "soft" systems to flourish with autonomy.

We invite the wild back, not as a guest, but as a resident. By choreographing antropy, we create spaces that require less maintenance but deliver higher biodiversity, stronger climate resilience, and a deeper connection to the seasons.


Landscapes as Leverage


We view the landscape as the primary infrastructure of our lives. It is the lever we pull to solve complex challenges. Whether dealing with water management in a city square or the micro-climate of a private courtyard, we use landscape interventions as strategic tools.

  • The Shift. From "controlling nature" to "steering succession."
  • The Scale. We zoom comfortably between the watershed and the window box.
  • The Time. We design for the 4th dimension. Our projects are not finished on opening day; they are designed to grow, shift, and evolve.


Practice and Research


LLA operates as a design studio, a research laboratory, and a horticultural workshop. We constantly oscillate between the drawing board and the field.

Our Core Services:
  • Strategic Masterplanning: Defining the frameworks for urban growth and ecological recovery on a territorial scale.

  • Public Space Design: Creating squares, parks, and streetscapes that balance human intensity with natural wildness.

  • Private Landscapes & Gardens. We treat the private garden with the same rigor as an urban plan. We view the garden as a domestic ecosystem - a sanctuary for immersion and a testing ground for biodiversity. Here, the "Wilderness by Design" philosophy is experienced up close, creating sensory-rich environments that reconnect inhabitants to the rhythms of the natural world.

  • Territorial Research: Mapping the hidden potentials of a site - historical, geological, and biological.