Achieved Archivi | VALERIO COZZI

Feel UpTown, green UpTown!

admin — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 12:01:56 +0000

Feel Uptown – draining paving

Feel UpTown’s landscape design creates a vibrant, light-filled sanctuary in the heart of the R6 residential complex. Reinterpreting classic Milanese courtyard traditions, this green space opens up to and interacts seamlessly with Cascina Merlata Park.

Designed for Everyday Life

The elegant, minimalist layout serves a dual purpose: a functional space for daily living and a stunning visual garden when viewed from the upper floors. Flowerbeds are shaped into gentle hills. This design technique multiplies green perspectives and provides the necessary soil depth for thriving root systems. Walkways are crafted using carefully contrasted materials to deliver a rich, sensory experience underfoot. The organic forms designed by landscape architect Valerio Cozzi provide a soft counterpoint to the sharp geometries of Studio Labics’ buildings. The result is a welcoming, human-scale environment.

Feel UpTown trees

Feel UpTown trees are nearly fifty: flowering cherry trees (Prunus serrulata ‘Accolade’), magnolias (Magnolia liliflora ‘Susan’, M. soulangeana, M. tripetala), katsura trees (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) and Chionanthus retusus. The planting layout takes into account the size at maturity of each species, to let crowns grow free following their natural shape.

chionanthus-retusus

20+ green islands

Shrubs and evergreen herbaceous plants are establishing on the more than twenty green hills of the plaza which is a private space open to the public. The use of ground cover perennials instead of lawns is intended to protect the soil from wheather erosion and solar radiation. They will also create a favorable micro-climate that will reduce watering requirements. The arrangement of green islands is designed to maximize freedom of movement in the area and privacy for residents on the ground floor.

Anemones and ferns have taken their place in the cooler flower beds. The concept of the Feel UpTown green courtyard is inspired to the often overlooked importance of private courtyards for the city of Milan. Set apart from the city buzz, they are quiet and cool islands inhabited by evergreen foliage or unassuming blooms, such as aspidistra and bergenia.

2,000 sqm green roof

Feel UpTown green heart is a 2,000 sqm intensive green roof located above a level reserved to residents. The isles are obtained layering lightweight soil, water storage and drainage technical materials to root systems and structural needs. The courtyard is accessible from via Pier Paolo Pasolini and from Parco Cascina Merlata through wide staircases and ramps accompanied by trees.

Feel UpTown and SuDS

The entire Feel UpTown green courtyard project has been designed to support sustainable urban drainage systems (SuDS) in Milan. Not a single raindrop is lost or causes the underground civil systems to overload. Both the green area, which covers approximately 1,000 square metres, and the paving allow rainwater to infiltrate the underlying layers and reach the storage tanks, from which the irrigation system draws water.

The concrete slabs that make up the paths are grouted with aggregates bound by permeable bio-resins.

FEEL UPTOWN

Where: Milan, Cascina Merlata
Landscaped area: 1,925 sqm
Year: 2019-2020 (project), 2024-2025 (construction)
Real estate developer: EuroMilano
Architectural project: Labics
Structural and MEP project: SIO Engineering
Irrigation project: Paolo Pessina, agronomist
Landscape project: Valerio Cozzi architetto landscape designer
Landscape services: Concept, Preliminary Design, Detailed Design, Construction Assistance on landscape-related topics

The construction works of the green court

feel-uptown-r6 (8)

At the end of 2025, vegetation conquered the islands that are the hallmark of the new R6 residential complex in the booming Cascina Merlata neighborhood.

Read the review of the project here

The post Feel UpTown, green UpTown! appeared first on VALERIO COZZI.

Mamma Mia Restaurant, Rome

admin — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 16:49:29 +0000

ristorante-mamma-mia-roma_3

Photo credit: atelier XYZ

At the Mamma Mia restaurant in Rome, you can feel in the garden even when you are indoor. Palms and ferns are always in sight thanks to the play of beams and full-height windows that connects the rooms. The landscape project spreads along the margins of the architectures to create fluid and relaxing spaces. Evergreen species with glossy leaves make their way into the pavement with apparent spontaneity. The lightness of the Chamaedorea and the cheerfulness of the sphere-shaped pittosporum soften the rigor of the wooden structure designed by Labics. The soffused light filtering through the trees and the beams has inspired the botanical choices. Clouds of Peppermint and Soleirolia and arched leaves of Dryopteris recreate the freshness and charm of the tropical undergrowth. As evening falls, the garden of the Mamma Mia restaurant seems to expand into dark. The Cor-Ten volutes of the custom-made sculpture project the vegetation into a dreamlike dimension.

Mamma Mia Restaurant, Rome

Where: Roma, Quartiere Pinciano
Area: 95 sq m
Year: 2014 (design), 2015 (construction)
In collaboration with: Labics (architecture), A. Palmieri Ing & Arch Associati (structures), Fusaro Mario Srl (sculpture fabrication), Torsanlorenzo (vegetation)
Services: Concept, plant design, sculpture design, construction assistance

Plant design sketch by Valerio Cozzi

The post Mamma Mia Restaurant, Rome appeared first on VALERIO COZZI.

Italian garden in Riyadh

admin — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 15:59:14 +0000

valerio-cozzi-private-garden-in-riyadh-11

An Italian Garden in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, inspired by historical Tuscan gardens and enriched with the amber tones of local limestone. The exuberance of the design responds to the request to articulate the area in a variety of environments to welcome guest and chill out. Regular hedges, pergolas and wooden shading structures introduce to a sequence of scenarios that combine sharp lines and monumentality.

valerio-cozzi-private-garden-in-riyadh-02

The exedra at the centre of the site performs as hinge between the formal and the private gardens. Behind the brick arches, columns shaped as desert rock monoliths raise from a pond. The water feature is an adjustable filling basin that, as appropriate, is able to display joyful jets or to become a dry theatre for exclusive parties.

valerio-cozzi-private-garden-in-riyadh-sketch-01

This is an Italian garden also considering the importance of vegetation, that connects and differentiates the areas. Palms and local trees pruned on the model of cypress welcome guests with solemnity, while bright blooms and subtropical flora enclose the spaces reserved for the family.

Plan of the garden. The central feature of the exedra sets apart the representative areas (on the left) and private gardens (on the right).

Italian garden in Riyadh

Where: Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Area: 8.000 sq m
Year: 2009-2011 (design), 2010-2012 (construction)
Services: Green masterplan concept, preliminary, executive and construction design, water features design, shading structures design, paving design, assistance during construction

To explore more Saudi projects…

Landscape design for a family estate in Riyadh

Landscape design in Riyadh for a family estate, featuring over thirty different garden scenarios like an open-air Wunderkammer. In a country where desert rules, a visionary entrepreneur welcomed a project collecting a variety of green experiences. Autochthonous vegetation accompanied by Mediterranean and Sub-Tropical plant species complete the architecture, both outdoor and indoor, with scented secret […]

The moon in the well, sunken garden in Riyadh

The post Italian garden in Riyadh appeared first on VALERIO COZZI.

Terrace, Milan

admin — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 10:23:32 +0000

progetto-terrazza-verde-per-attico-a-milano_5

A terrace with flamboyant flora, which enhances privacy and adds a wavy canopy to the Milan skyline. Cistus and tamarisks, rosemary and agapanthus embracing the outdoor living room evoke the scent of summer. A fragrant hedge of camphor, privet and osmanthus at the BBQ area lets you forget the city. A pair of young multi-stem olive trees frames the best view. The delicate nuances of the Pierre de Ronsard rose overlook the spot that will accommodate the outdoor breakfasts.
Vegetation contributes to the creation of the environments and atmospheres that compose the terrace, spreading throughout the custom-made metal planters, trellis and pergolas. The project interprets the owners’ desire to turn the flat roof of the building into a vibrant garden where blossoms and foliage can intertwine freely.

Location: Milan, Italy
Site area: 80 m2
Partners: Tessera Paolo (metal planters, trellis, pergolas), Società Agricola Panda Srl (vegetation)
Year: 2021
Services: Concept, executive project, collection of estimates, order assistance, planning of works and verification of logistics, verification of the necessary ancillary works, assistance to construction works

Project sketch by Valerio Cozzi

The post Terrace, Milan appeared first on VALERIO COZZI.

The moon in the well, sunken garden in Riyadh

admin — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 10:22:04 +0000

A sunken garden inspired by the old tale of the moon in the well. A sunken oasis with palms and water, reachable by descending broad lawn steps. Introduced by the scent of lemon trees and Lantana montevidensis shrubs, the moon in the well garden displays a crescent of grey-leaved shrubs (Leucophyllum frutescens, Santolina tomentosa, Senecio cineraria) embracing a black stone fountain. The opening in the light steel shading structure lets the water feature shine of light reflections. A further crescent of ultramarine blue painted wooden planks adds a vibrant touch to the space while screening from the windows overlooking the garden. The well consists of a precious round fountain made of Labradorite, iridescent dark blue stone. At night, the white marble cladding of the retaining walls reverberates the moonlight and the subdued sound of the shallow pond water.

sunken-garden-wooden-planks

Project: Al Ammariah family estate
Location: Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)
Garden area: 262 m²
Highlights: sunken garden, stair with lawn treads and Cor-ten® risers, Mediterranean plant species, Labradorite fountain
Partners: Faris & Faris Architects (Amman, Jordan), Comatec (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia), Art Contracting (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)
Services: Preliminary, executive and construction design, fountain design, shading structure design, paving design, assistance during construction

Al Ammariah family estate landscape project takes advantage of any situation to grow a garden: even a stair, here, gets a green carpet of lawn.
Valerio Cozzi

The moon in the well garden: project sketch by Valerio Cozzi

sunken-garden-during-construction (6)

Construction works

The post The moon in the well, sunken garden in Riyadh appeared first on VALERIO COZZI.

Landscape design for a family estate in Riyadh

admin — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 16:48:04 +0000

Al Ammariah garden during construction (photo by Ghassan Hourani)

Landscape design in Riyadh for a family estate, featuring over thirty different garden scenarios like an open-air Wunderkammer. In a country where desert rules, a visionary entrepreneur welcomed a project collecting a variety of green experiences. Autochthonous vegetation accompanied by Mediterranean and Sub-Tropical plant species complete the architecture, both outdoor and indoor, with scented secret gardens, formal patios, lawn carpets, amusing shrub shapes, artificial green hills, shaded terraces, private courts… everything is designed exclusively for the site and built from scratch.

In harsh climates such as Saudi Arabia, responsible landscape design means that any decision must answer to vegetation needs prior than to people. The multiplicity of gardens itself is a design answer to the local environment, where managing a small-scale size is easier. Vegetation collaborates to separate, define and shelter open spaces from the incessant sun, interpreting the intended use of each building and area with respect to local behaviours. Outdoor areas are designed to promote the use after sunset, therefore selecting plant species also bearing in mind lighting design other than considering water management and maintenance routine.

Growing a garden in the desert is a strong gesture that pushes to the extreme the relationship between human and natural forces. Rather than pretending that landscape design in Riyadh can be sustainable, I’d go for a more reasonable, attainable ‘responsible landscape design’. This means a disciplined use of professional knowledge and experience, questioning and listening to the place to make the best use of natural and economical resources, for the moment being and in perspective.
Valerio Cozzi

Materials choice and setting is also important to avoid overheating and to promote sustainability. The project sorts natural stone from local quarries for the paving, reuses stone scraps and smaller pieces as mulching, privileges plant species with low water requirements and groups them according to their irrigation needs to allow a wiser use of resources.

The construction of the family estate is nearly complete. In the end, the newly-planted vegetation is spreading: the broad leaves of Canna indica are getting familiar with the architecture, the pink bracts of Bougainvillea spectabilis and the bright blue flowers of Jacquemontia petantha vines are conquering trellis and shading structures as expected.

Location: Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)
Site area: 9.3 Ha
Year: 2015-2017 (design), 2017-ongoing (construction)
Partners: Faris & Faris Architects (Amman, Jordan), Comatec (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)
Services: Green masterplan concept, preliminary, executive and construction design, indoor landscape design, fountains and water features design, shading structures design, garden pavilions design, paving design, assistance during construction

Al Ammariah construction site – photo by Ghassani Hourani (7)

Landscape of the family estate during construction

Three reasons to fall in love with this landscape design project

#1

The construction schedule included the cultivation and acclimation of all the plants onsite, at the margins of the property, following the agricultural vocation of the site.

#2

Driven by the will to welcome family members and highly regarded guests with comfort and beauty, green areas are yet far from being crystallized postcards. Connections, walkways, driveways, exploratory paths and strolling promenades make the Ammariah estate an experience that is renewed at every step.

#3

The garden features have been developed in parallel with the architectural project, therefore providing a flowing transition from space to space and granting ideal growing conditions to plants.

The post Landscape design for a family estate in Riyadh appeared first on VALERIO COZZI.

the egg garden

admin — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 17:33:06 +0000

Giardino all’improvviso con scultura EGG (26)

The EGG garden is a glimpse of a primaeval world, guarded in a prestigious building in Como. A tiny garden designed to offer a scenographic setting to the offices at the ground floor. And, at the same time, an inspiring green environment to the upper floors. The dimmed light of the north-facing atrium suggested the idea of evoking a leap in time with landscape design. As in a virgin forest, ferns fill the inner ellipse of brown metal. In the outer one, quartzite chips evoke the sparkle of the water. Hydrangeas climb a diamond-shaped treillage while acanthus and periwinkle colonize the custom-made planters. The dark green foliage visually improves the depth of the scene. The very protagonist of the EGG garden is the cor-ten® steel sculpture, designed to evoke the mystery of the origins of life on Earth. The colour palette, set to natural hues, aims to improve the well-being of the working place. The design exploits the dynamic curves of the ellipses to obtain a lively composition. The vegetation favours species with dense foliage and exotic shapes to convey the image of an uncontaminated place.

The EGG sculpture construction and installation process, and the planting gallery:

Giardino all’improvviso con scultura EGG (3)

Location: Como, Italy
Site area: 36 sqm
Partners: Fusaro Mario Srl (Egg sculpture), Società Agricola Panda Srl (vegetation) Barducco carpenteria metallica (metal cladding, planters and treillage)
Year: 2012 (design), 2013 (construction)
Services: Concept, executive and construction design, EGG sculpture design, works supervision

Published on:

The post the egg garden appeared first on VALERIO COZZI.

a Cube garden in Rome

admin — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 14:43:20 +0000

valerio-cozzi-living-walls-cubik_3

A cube garden. In Rome, the redevelopment of a lodge settled between tall buildings offered the opportunity to build a four-sided vertical green. White windows and doors emerge from the lush foliage of the living walls. The plant species selection depends on light exposure: varieties of Clorophytum, ferns and Vinca for the spots with more hours of shade, Geranium macrorrhizum and Erigeron karvinskianus for the brighter ones. The panels hosting the vegetation are installed on the facades through steel frames with anti-corrosion treatment and stainless steel fasteners and connectors. Small carpentry details add on the natural effect by concealing the integrated fertigation system. The decision to create a cube garden with vegetation on the facade saves space. The free courtyard can be set as needed. The vegetation along the boundaries has been recovered and enhanced through appropriate pruning and additions.

Location: Roma, Italy
Site area: 97 m2
Partner: Peverelli Srl
Year: 2015 (design), 2016 (construction)
Services: Concept, preliminary and construction project, planting design, construction works supervision

The post a Cube garden in Rome appeared first on VALERIO COZZI.

Parco dei conigli, San Donato Milanese

admin — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 17:48:47 +0000

The landmark of the ‘Rabbits Park’ is actually… a hare! One of the designer’s tasks is to understand the place where he or she intervenes, to discover its genius loci […]. Once we would have called it its tutelary deity, a spiritual entity to respect and venerate. A way of seeing that, perhaps, we are recovering in some way, if we consider today’s attention to the environment.

Valerio Cozzi, the designer

Parco dei Conigli, which means ‘Rabbits Park’, in San Donato Milanese, is called after the local wildlife and its traditional association with the positive concepts of rebirth, spring and resilience.

Under construction, the new park will rise along the renowned and expanding Polyclinic in the southeast area of the Metropolitan City of Milan. The plot has been left over both from agricultural and from urban dynamics, after a solid rural background. With the aim to give back to the community this piece of land, landscape designers Massimo Semola and Valerio Cozzi went in search of the traces left by its agricultural heritage. Signs that are sometimes still visible from the ground, sometimes with aerial photos or by studying the archives.

Greenways

The landscape project recovers the forgotten country gravel lanes, by now reduced to thin tracks, transforming them into comfortable cycle and pedestrian paths. The new trails allow to explore the park in long tours, to cross it straight from one end to the other. The South Milan Agricultural Park will also be a comfortable ride from the city centre.

Biodiversity

In addition to the connection of the Parco dei Conigli with the greenways of the area, the rebirth of the place is entrusted to the growth of a quality environment. To support biodiversity and to reinforce the ecological corridor represented by the dismissed irrigation ditch ‘Roggia Cavenaga’, vegetation is pivotal. That’s why the project recovers, integrates or replaces – when invasive or compromised – the unkempt vegetation. Plant species will be native or edible fruit, tree and shrub species such as Acer campestre, Carpinus betulus, Corylus avellana, Euonymus europaeus, Malus sylvestris, Prunus spinosa, Quercus robur, Tilia cordata. The intent is to expand the birds’ and small mammals ’areal of the near South Milan Agricultural Park.

Layout

The project of the Parco dei Conigli takes up the linearity of the rural landscape that characterized the area before urban expansion, in the 1950s. Tree species, location and density comply with the requirements of the hospital heliport and Linate airport.

A forested strip frames the central wide meadow, while tree rows foster the visual exploration through long, obstacle-free perspectives. Playgrounds and picnic areas, all next to the city edge, will introduce people to the wider wonder that is nature.

Construction works, started in September 2021 by the San Donato Group to compensate for the extension of the Polyclinic, will redevelop an area of about 90 thousand square meters.

The Park in February 2023 – photo credits arch. Massimo Semola

parco-dei-conigli_foto-di-massimo-semola__11

Project data

Where: San Donato Milanese, Milan, Italy
Area: approximately 90,000 sm
In collaboration with: arch. Massimo Semola, dr. agr. Paolo Alleva
Year: 2020-2021 (project), construction in progress
Services: Preliminary, definitive and executive design, coordinated and integrated design

Published on:

Topscape #43/2021

The post Parco dei conigli, San Donato Milanese appeared first on VALERIO COZZI.

Campus Spark, renovated farmhouse near Pavia

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 16:50:03 +0000

campus-spark-bereguardo-aiuola-e-fioriere-con-aromatiche

Design of the outdoor spaces of Campus Spark interprets the features of the traditional, Lombard agricultural landscape in a contemporary way. Here, manicured gardens, fruit trees, feathery hedges and canals tell the fashination of an international hi-tech firm for this old farmhouse. The location is near the Visconti’s Castle in Bereguardo (Pavia). The renovated architectures find a link with the territory thanks to the neat, compact aromatic carpet that illuminates the entrance courtyard. The design of the square raised bed incorporates a wide ramp granting a fully accessible environment. Persimmon and cherry trees and field maples await the first cold weather to colour autumn. High weaving grasses accompany the paths of the central courtyard and enclose the conversation and BBQ areas designed for the users of the multifunctional and coworking quarters. River Ticino and water of the typical nearby canals are recalled with a strip of river stones that runs along and under the walkways made of WPC wood. The new structures, including also a dining area, gym and rooms for selected guests shade the passage between the two main courtyards. This provides perfect growing conditions for a soothing, dense parterre of ferns and bigleaf periwinkle. Carefully studied coplanarity of paving materials and integration of ramps and level transitions in the design of the open spaces make the site comfortable and safe for everyone.

Where: Bereguardo, Pavia, Italy
Area: 1.275 sm
Parner: Giuseppe Tortato Architects
Year: 2015 (project), 2017 (opening)
Services: Concept design, Executive design, Construction works assistance

campus-spark-bereguardo-progetto_valerio_cozzi_1

Campus Spark, concept design of the courtyards. Sketches by Valerio Cozzi

Today the Bereguardo complex is home to the Campus Party Sparks: an e-sports academy providing training and talent boosting to players and video gaming professionals, together with consultancy to succeed in the business of video gaming on an international scale.

The post Campus Spark, renovated farmhouse near Pavia appeared first on VALERIO COZZI.