Landscape Architecture Explained: Scope, History, Practice

Landscape architecture is the design of the outdoor environment: parks, streets, campuses, gardens, waterfronts, rooftops and the spaces between buildings. It is often mistaken for planting design, but the discipline is much broader. A landscape architect shapes ground levels, manages rainwater, plans how people move through a site, chooses materials and plants that will survive the climate, and coordinates all of this with the buildings, roads and services that share the land.

This article explains what the profession covers, where it came from, how it sits alongside architecture and engineering on a project, and what it looks like in a hot, wet, dense city such as Singapore. It is written from the perspective of the structural engineers who usually meet the landscape design at the point where soil, water and planting have to be carried by a slab or a retaining wall.

What landscape architecture covers

The scope of the discipline runs from the regional scale down to the detail of a paving joint. At the large end it includes green networks, river corridors and the open-space structure of new towns. At the small end it includes a courtyard, a planter or the steps down to a garden. Most practices work somewhere in between, on the external works of buildings and on public parks.

Site planning — where buildings, roads, paths and open spaces go, and how they relate to sun, wind, views and existing trees.
Grading and drainage — shaping the ground so that rain runs where it should, and so that falls, ramps and steps work for people of all abilities.
Hardscape — paving, walls, edges, steps, decks, shelters and furniture.
Softscape — trees, shrubs, groundcover and lawn, with their soil volumes and irrigation.
Water — ponds, channels, rain gardens and other features that are both ornamental and functional.
Ecology and maintenance — habitat value, long-term growth, and how the landscape will be looked after once the designers have left.

For a clear walk-through of the design principles that sit underneath all of this, see our companion article on landscape design.

A short history of the profession

People have designed gardens and estates for thousands of years, from the courtyard gardens of the ancient world to the formal gardens of Renaissance Italy and seventeenth-century France, the English landscape garden, and the temple and stroll gardens of Japan. Our article on Japanese garden design traces one of the longest of these traditions.

The modern profession, however, is usually dated to the nineteenth century. Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, who won the competition for New York’s Central Park with their Greensward plan in 1858, are widely credited with adopting “landscape architect” as a professional title in the 1860s. Their work on parks, parkways and planned suburbs set out the idea that the design of public open space was a public good, and a distinct skill. The American Society of Landscape Architects was founded in 1899, and professional bodies followed in other countries during the twentieth century.

In the second half of that century the field widened again. Ian McHarg’s book Design with Nature (1969) argued for reading a site’s geology, hydrology and ecology before deciding what to build on it, an approach that underpins much environmental planning today.

How landscape architecture works with architects and engineers

On a building project the landscape architect is one consultant in a team that typically includes the architect, the civil and structural engineer and the mechanical and electrical engineers. The landscape design starts early, because decisions about levels, tree retention and drainage affect the building’s footprint and its ground floor.

Where the coordination points are

Levels. Finished ground levels, platform levels and drainage falls have to agree with the architect’s floor levels and the civil engineer’s drainage design.
Structure under landscape. Wherever planting sits on a basement roof, podium, sky terrace or roof, the structural engineer has to design the slab for the weight of saturated soil, trees, water and the people who will use the space.
Waterproofing and drainage layers. Planted slabs need a waterproofing system with root protection, a drainage layer and outlets that can be maintained.
Retaining structures. Changes of level are often formed by walls that are as much engineering as landscape; see our explainer on retaining walls.
Services. Irrigation, lighting cables, drainage pipes and utility routes all compete for the same ground.

In our consulting work, the most common problems arise when landscape is treated as a finishing trade and added after the structure has been designed. A deep planter or a mature tree placed on a slab that was designed for a light finish can overload it, and the fix is far more disruptive than getting the loads right at the start.

Landscape architecture in Singapore and the tropics

Singapore offers an unusually clear example of landscape as public policy. The Garden City vision announced in 1967 set out to green the city’s streets and estates, and later framings, City in a Garden and now City in Nature, extended that ambition to parks, park connectors, nature areas and skyrise greenery. The Singapore Institute of Landscape Architects was established in 1985 and represents the profession locally.

Several agencies shape the work. The National Parks Board (NParks) sets standards for planting, tree conservation and greenery on development sites. The Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Landscaping for Urban Spaces and High-Rises (LUSH) programme requires many developments to replace greenery lost to the building footprint and offers planning incentives for sky terraces, communal planting and similar features. PUB’s Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters (ABC Waters) programme and design guidelines encourage features such as bioretention basins and vegetated swales that treat and slow stormwater.

The tropical climate changes the design brief. Heavy, intense rainfall makes drainage the first discipline of any external works design, and Singapore’s long-term average annual rainfall is around 2,500 mm according to the Meteorological Service Singapore. Heat makes shade from trees and structures essential to comfort. Standing water must be designed out, because the National Environment Agency treats mosquito breeding on private premises as an offence. Our article on tropical architecture covers the building side of the same climate response.

The landscape architect’s process

A typical commission follows a sequence that mirrors architectural practice:

Site analysis — survey, existing trees, soils, drainage paths, sun and wind, views, and the regulatory constraints on the site.
Concept — the main spatial ideas, circulation and planting character.
Design development — levels, materials, planting palette, soil depths, water features, lighting and furniture, coordinated with the building and the engineers.
Documentation — drawings, specifications and planting schedules for tender and construction.
Construction and establishment — inspecting the works and overseeing the period in which new planting becomes established.

The last stage matters more than many owners expect. A landscape is the only part of a project that is meant to keep changing after handover, and a design that does not account for growth, leaf fall and maintenance access will drift away from its intent within a few years.

Why engineering matters to landscape design

Landscape looks soft, but it is heavy. Saturated soil weighs roughly as much per cubic metre as a dense brick, a mature tree with its root ball can weigh several tonnes, and a pond full of water imposes a load that does not go away. On podiums and roofs these loads have to be added to everything else the structure carries; our guide to types of structural loads explains how dead and imposed loads are treated.

Water is the other engineering concern. Planted slabs, retaining walls and water features all depend on waterproofing, drainage and the ability to inspect and clear outlets. Many of the long-term defects we see in landscaped buildings are leaks, blocked drains or saturated backfill pressing on walls, rather than failures of the planting itself.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between landscape architecture and landscape design?

The terms overlap, but landscape architecture usually refers to the professional discipline that handles site planning, grading, drainage, public space and coordination with buildings and engineering, while landscape design is often used for the design of gardens and smaller private spaces. In practice both rely on the same principles of space, movement, planting and water.

Who founded landscape architecture as a profession?

No single person founded it, but Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, designers of Central Park in New York, are widely credited with adopting the title “landscape architect” in the 1860s and with establishing public park design as a distinct profession. The American Society of Landscape Architects followed in 1899.

Does a landscape architect design the structure under a roof garden?

No. The landscape architect sets the soil depths, planting, finishes and drainage intent, but the slab, beams and supports that carry the garden are designed by a structural engineer, and in Singapore structural works must be designed and endorsed by a Professional Engineer.

Which Singapore agencies influence landscape design?

NParks sets greenery and tree requirements, URA’s LUSH programme governs landscape replacement and greenery incentives on many developments, PUB’s ABC Waters guidelines cover stormwater features, and NEA’s rules on mosquito breeding affect how water and drainage are detailed.

Why does a landscape need drainage design in Singapore?

Singapore receives heavy, intense rainfall through the year. Without properly designed falls, outlets and drainage layers, water ponds on paving, saturates soil, overloads planted slabs and creates mosquito breeding sites, so drainage is designed alongside the planting from the start.

Planning a landscape on a podium, roof or sloping site? Talk to our consultancy about the loads and drainage, or get in touch.