For us, landscape is purposeful. It creates great places and holds solutions to climate breakdown.
We are LDA Design, an independent, 100% employee-owned consultancy of urban designers, landscape architects and planners with a common purpose to make great places and shape the world for the better.
We share strong values and a creative culture. Employee ownership means we all have a say in how our business is run, and take responsibility for its success. Our Charter sums up all that we hold dear and is a call to action to be courageous.
Climate breakdown and catastrophic nature loss are the biggest challenges of our times, and the need for collective action has never been greater. We believe landscape is key to managing these crises.
We take a holistic approach which recognises the close links between climate, biodiversity and ecosystem decline, health and wellbeing, and social and economic inequality. We champion new approaches and seek to influence policy which results in more climate-conscious design, sharing our learning with clients and partners. We are committed to our own operations being carbon neutral by 2025.
We nurture a great team. Together, we have a voice that carries.
Our roots lie in the science and art of landscape architecture, and this strengthens all the services we offer. Landscape has the power to transform, to reveal the extraordinary; to connect old and new communities; to create ambitious, sociable, equitable and more sustainable places that work well.
The original meaning of the word landscape is to create a place where people belong. Landscape connects people and place and knowing how people use space gives breadth and depth to our work.
We follow the principles of ‘first life, then spaces, then buildings’, turning traditional masterplanning on its head to shape places that better meet people’s everyday needs, supporting active, healthy lifestyles; well-designed infrastructure in the right places; and enabling close contact with nature. We start by listening, then we design fairer spaces that present more choices and promise social interaction.
Our imagination fuels us. We are distinct in how we marry the planning and design of place with the making of place. This brings with it the need to understand and anticipate development processes. We work hard to get great projects through planning and over the line, maximising social benefit. We are green infrastructure pioneers and have supported the renewable energy industry since its infancy.
We have eight studios across the UK and a 170-strong and growing team. We have received more than 100 awards for urban renewal and town centre improvements, and contemporary and historic parkland design.
Our beautiful planet needs our care, so we don’t shy away from the big issues of the day. Instead, our imagination fuels us to seek audacious solutions in the landscape.
We are ambitious about what we want to achieve for people and for nature. Daily life at LDA Design is spirited and creative. We believe in broad churches and the power of the collective.
