About Us
Uncommon Designers is a multidisciplinary placemaking practice. We come from landscape architecture, horticulture, urban farming, environmental engineering, and interior design; we believe that tension between perspectives produces better sites. Our process is grounded in what practitioners call "ink and dirt": rigorous site analysis and schematic design, followed by hands-in-the-ground knowledge of how plants establish, hardscape weathers, and spaces are used over time.
Every project begins with a close read of the site: its microclimate, hydrology, existing vegetation, adjacencies, and the lived context of the people it serves. From that inventory, we develop design concepts that work within real budget and schedule constraints, not around them.
The Uncommon Vision
We design landscapes where people and the habitat are co-occupants. Our long-range vision is a built environment operating within circular ecological systems. This means stormwater retained and filtered on-site, plant communities supporting local pollinator networks, and productive food landscapes reducing off-site resource consumption. We design with climate trajectories in mind: not the site as it is, but as it will be.
We are urban farmers, wellness designers, horticulturists, structural engineers, licensed landscape architects, and people who still get dirt under their fingernails. We operate at the intersection of the natural, the built, and the cognitive – the sensory and experiential dimensions of space that technical drawings alone don't capture. Our work draws from biophilic design research, restorative landscape evidence, and productive urban ecology.