Practice  

Schoenaich Landscape Architects’ international team includes landscape architects, an artist and an engineer with a passion for plants. Their design concepts are influenced by various cultural experiences and the practice has a multi disciplinary approach. Commissions span Continental Europe to sub- Saharan Africa.

Brita von Schoenaich, Dip Hort Kew, MLI studied landscape design in Germany after training as a gardener. In 1984 she completed her studies at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, which she followed by taking a degree in landscape architecture in the UK.

In 1991 she set up a partnership with Tim Rees which lasted more than a decade. in 2004 both partners set up their own practices.

Schoenaich developed her studio by working with architects on new developments, residential and urban schemes. By introducing the concept of continental, contemporary planting via international conferences and lectures and her own work, she contributed to a change in British attitudes towards planting design and developed strategies for urban vegetation. Her approach to design is intuitive, responding to the architecture as well as the surrounding. She has worked with leading architects such as Allies and Morrison, Tony Fretton and John Thompson and Partners where she was involved in design development from the start, contributing to masterplan development as part of a multi disciplinary team.

She lectures widely, at universities and conferences. At Kew Gardens, she has tutored students in landscape design for over a decade and is external examiner at the Inchbald School on behalf of the University of Wales. At public enquiries she has been part of the winning consultant teams on a number of occasions.

Her team’s background in horticulture has allowed them to develop pioneering planting concepts and their work is widely published.

Current projects include residential developments for English Partnerships and private developers, designs for the gardens at Tate Britain and the British Embassy in Warsaw, planting for the roof terrace of Hamburg’s international conference centre, an airport in the desert and private gardens on the Cote d’ Azure and in London.

The practice was recently listed in House and Garden amongst the 40  leading garden designers.

The best photographs of Marks Hall, the Boathouse and the gardens in Ryton were taken by Marianne Majerus.