Topiaris is an award-winning landscape architecture office based in Lisbon. With more than 30 years of experience, Topiaris has been working in various geographical settings and cultural contexts, on a broad scope of projects, at many scales of intervention, ranging from landscape planning, the design of urban parks, public spaces, historical sites restoration, to contemporary design for institutional areas, tourism facilities, and private gardens.
Our body of work reflects a holistic philosophy where in all elements intertwine and are essential to the whole, inducing intuitive feel for life, harmonious relationships between people and their environments, and shape a strong sense of place, integrating local communities through out the design process.
Topiaris engagement with biodiversity conservation, natural systems functioning, and sustainable management of natural resources are basic project premises, as well as principles of simplicity and organic sources, aligned with a creative approach to site constraints offers opportunities for a distinctive design, based on authenticity and clarification of motives.
In every project we seek to promote well being, exciting and optimistic way of life, reconciling nature, art, food and sports. Fostering the ever-evolving landscape processes of evolution(vegetation, habitats, water resources) in line with natural processes allows us to achieve mature landscapes, economically and ecologically viable, optimizing the costs of construction and maintenance, hence real sustainability.
Recognizing the responsibility towards present and future generations, Topiaris work reflects creativity in the search of sustainable design solutions, aiming to add ecological, aesthetic, and social values to all projects. Rather than working only in the spatial dimensions, Topiaris always bring in the fourth dimension, that of Time, as the way the project will evolve along time is the most reliable indicator of a project true value.
Topiaris strives towards the creation of individual and collective memories which may stand the test of time and strengthen communities. Our focus remains unquestionably upon people as it is for them that we conceive and plan new projects, and for them that we defend he natural and cultural heritage of landscapes. The joy we have in thinking and designing landscapes is recognizable in our built work, both in the private as in the public spheres.
Teresa Barão and Luís Ribeiro are part of the initial founders group and were later joined by Catarina Viana. The practice includes eleven landscape architects, and each collaborator contribute with their own ideas and creativity to the overall collective design discourse. As a team, Topiaris constantly challenges itself to go beyond the apparent limits and to attain excellence in landscape design at all scales. To this end, we favour establishing multidisciplinary teams in our projects, as well as constant communication with our clients, in the conviction that everyone has a relevant role to play in building the character and identity of spaces under design or construction.
CATARINA RIBEIRO VIANA
(LISBOA, 1968), PARTNER
Degree in Landscape Architecture from Instituto Superior de Agronomia / Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, followed by an internship granted by the 'Learning through Landscapes Trust' on "Outdoor Spaces of Primary Schools Participation”. She took part in the ELEEs (European Landscape Architecture Exchange) / Master classes in Landscape Architecture in Évora (1990), Paris (1991) and Boskoop (1992). In 1995 she becomes partner of Topiaris, where she is responsible for the coordination of several awarded projects such as, the Largo do Campino (Mention of Honor in Portugal’s Landscape Architecture Awards 2006) and the Historical Quayside in Vila Franca de Xira (1st Prize of Portugal’s Landscape Architecture Awards 2012). She coordinates urban public space projects of large scale and high relevance such as the Braço de Prata Gardens, in collaboration with Renzo Piano Building Workshop. She was responsible for the outdoor projects for Campus da Justiça, and IBM headquarters, both located in Lisbon. She coordinated significant landscape projects for Schools, such as Padre António Vieira Secondary School in Lisbon (with TNP Archs), and the Monte da Caparica Secondary School in Almada (with OM2A Archs), developing new approaches, based on the importance of school’s outdoors as learning spaces. She started her professional path as coordinator/editor of AGROS (Technical-Scientific Magazine of AEISA) and integrated the curators committee of the "50 years of landscape architecture in Portugal" exhibition at Instituto Superior de Agronomia. In 1995/96 she co-coordinates the group “To think Project" in the planning and organization of regular discussion sessions on landscape architecture projects (which took place at the headquarters of the Portuguese professional association). She is a regular lecturer in professional training workshops, and a member of the board of Portuguese Association of Landscape Architects.
cviana@topiaris.com
LUIS RIBEIRO
(LUANDA, 1963), PARTNER
Degree in Landscape Architecture Instituto Superior de Agronomia / Universidade Técnica de Lisboa. PhD from the University of Massachusetts, USA (1997) in which he defends a dissertation on 'The Cultural Landscape and the Uniqueness of Place: a greenway heritage network for landscape conservation of Lisbon Metropolitan Area'. He is a founding partner of TOPIARIS (1988), coordinating large scale projects in different geographical contexts, such as the Municipal Master Plan for M’Banza Congo in Angola (2013) and the Sovereigns Park in Luanda, Angola. He works regularly with Island Planning Corporation in landscape design projects, such as “Citè de La Democratie”, in Libreville, Gabon, and in competitions for residential projects in Switzerland. He is an expert in restoration of historical gardens, and has coordinated relevant projects, such as the Tropical Botanical Garden of Lisbon, the Santana Gardens (headquarters of the Azores Regional Government) and the António Borges Gardens, both in Ponta Delgada, Azores. He lectures Landscape Theory, Planning and Design at Instituto Superior de Agronomia since 1999. He heads the Masters and PdH programs in the Landscape Architecture Department, and was a faculty member from 2009 to 2013. He is co-founder of the Research Center for Landscape Architecture Professor Caldeira Cabral. He is a regular invited lecturer at University of Massachusetts, where he was recently awarded in the 6th Fabos Conference for the excellence of his work on Greenway planning and design. He also lectures in Escuela Gallega del Paisaje / Fundación Juana de Veja (University of Santiago de Compostela / Universidade de Galicia), Czech University of Life Sciences, and the University of Milan / University of Genoa. Luis Ribeiro is a member the Portuguese Association of Landscape Architects and co-founder of the Portuguese Greenways Association. He publishes regularly in several journals in Europe, USA, South Korea and China since 1987.
luisribeiro@topiaris.com
TERESA BARÃO (LISBOA, 1962), PARTNER
Degree in Landscape Architecture from Instituto Superior de Agronomia / Universidade Técnica de Lisboa. She is a co-founder of Topiaris (1988) and responsible for the coordination and supervision of landscape architecture plans, studies and projects, both in Portugal as abroad. With Topiaris she develops projects with an innovative formal approach based on dunes’ and local vegetation Dynamics, namely the Garden in Comporta (1st Prize at the Portugal’s Landscape Architecture Awards 2011) and the Tagus Linear Park, in the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon (1st Prize at Archmarathon Awards 2015, 1st Prize at Wan Awards, 2016; Bronze Medal in the American Architecture Masterprize, 2016). In the tourism industry she is responsible for the coordination of relevant projects such as the Aman Resort in Comporta (with IPC, Denniston & Risco), and Six Senses Douro Valley Hotel (with RA\\ & Clodagh Design). She is also in charge of plans and projects for Long Island, USA (Shou Sugi Ban House, in the Hamptons), Mozambique (Aga-Khan Academy), and East Timor (Hera University Campus). She started her professional activity in 1987 at EDP (Portugal Electricity Company) developing a pioneering Landscape Integration Project for a new Power Station in Pego, Abrantes. In 1996, still working for EDP, she coordinated the Landscape Project for Puertollano‘s Power Station, in Spain. In 1995, in collaboration with Universidade de Aveiro and Instituto Superior Técnico, she participated in the "Parque da Pena Reforestation, Recovery and Management Program’, under the program of ‘Preservation and Requalification of the Sintra - Cascais Natural Park" (UNESCO site). She is a member of the Portuguese Association of Landscape Architects and a co-founder of the National Association of Green Corridors. Since 1987, she regularly publishes articles in specialized journals in Europe, USA, South Korea and China.
teresabarao@topiaris.com
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS
Ana Lemos
André Godinho
Elsa Calhau
Helena Sousa
Henrique Mateus
João Pessoa
José Barradas Lopes
Miguel Madeira
Rita Salgado
Sara Coelho
OFFICE ASSISTANT
Isabel Rola Pereira
