Size: 30,000 square feet
Type: Single-Family Residencial Landscape
Location: Miami Beach, FL

A minimal and clean landscape design approach was requested by the client who built this high-end spec house meant to be enjoyed by a celebrity looking for the perfect family retrieve in the Magic City. Large expanses of water, stone slabs, river rock, gravel, zoysia grass, and tall grasses were laid out in simple patterns that mimic the geometry of the building plan and define the pedestrian circulation around the garden. This groundcover quilt provided a base for lush tropical and subtropical palms, cycads, pandanuses and trees that create the drama and scale required by high-end outdoor living. Large, existing, indigenous, trees and palms became the second organizing force and were used to shade the pool deck and outdoor terraces. These existing trees add a sense of maturity to the garden and help maintain some of the site’s existing natural conditions, particularly the drainage patterns. Views of Biscayne Bay can be appreciated from any interior space and balconies that face north, as they are framed by the existing and new plantings.

Landscape Design: Mauricio Del Valle Design
Architecture: Choeff Levy Fischman
Landscape Installation: Reliable Property Services
Photography: Manny Del Valle

Size: 5,750 square feet
Type: Condominium Renovation
Location: Sunny Isles, FL

For a first collaboration with architect friends Cecilia and Robert Nichols, from Formwork, we worked on the renovation of an apartment that occupies the entire forty-first floor of a skyscraper located on the east coast of Florida. The apartment features balconies 360-degrees around that allow endless views of beaches, intercostal waters, suburban neighborhoods and the Miami skyline. Metal frame and mesh structures were designed to control guest traffic around the balconies and to house a small collection of epiphytic plants. Exterior furnishings, by B&B Italia and Paola Lenti, create different sitting conditions around the epiphyte structures in an effort to provide spaces for outdoor living and “tame” the harsh environment of profuse wind, salt-spray and heat. The interior spaces adjust to a gradient of golden beach color, on the west, to white surf, on the east, as floor and furnishings take on the different colors that mark the change. The existing east interior partitions were removed to make an uninterrupted room with clear views up and down the coastline. Furnishings fill more of the spaces in the western section, making for an enveloping domestic experience in the guest rooms and family room. Spaces use the colors, textures and patterns from exotic travel destinations. The closets and bunk beds in the guest rooms are decedents of ocean-liner era “steamer trunks”, with polished brass, velvet and suede details. 

Woven into the design agenda is the work of three artists who contributed site-specific installations. Aaron Fein's embroidered ”Milky Way" runs the sixty-plus feet of the East Room, providing the only interior wall surface in this substantial space. The piece is subtle throughout the day as the ton-sur-ton white stitching, occasionally interrupted by soft pastel colors, shifts quietly with the light. Along the hallway outside the west-side guest rooms artist Leah Patgorski's piece "Dhobi Ghat" or "Clothes Lines" adorns the full length of the hall, with movable silk and linen panels that become an enormous light fixture. Cristina Hernandez Villalon's "Ceramic Gradients 01" is located at the elevator entry hall. The piece is made up of over four hundred pieces of ceramic, one hundred and twenty of them made by Hernandez Villalon, curated to follow the gradient from the dark blues of the deep ocean, to the lighter teals and greens, to the white of the waves crashing on shore and on to the sand tones of the beach.  

Design Consulting: Mauricio Del Valle Design
Architecture: Formwork
Lighting Design: G2J
Construction: Brickell Group
Landscape Installation: Superior Landscaping
Photography: Michael Stavaridis

Size: 210,000 square feet
Type: Horse Farm Landscape
Location: Charlottesville, Virginia

Our architect friends Cecilia and Robert Nichols, from Formwork, asked us to develop a strategy to integrate an existing swimming pool, an old log cabin and a new addition that sit in the middle of a bucolic horse farm in Virginia. A second challenge was to work with the existing grade and take the user from the lowest point, outside the new addition, to the highest, at the pool deck, without greatly affecting natural drainage. We decided to follow the architects’ initiative and extended the two stonewalls that support the addition, out to the landscape. With the help of a third stonewall we were able to support a series of wood decks, concrete steps and concrete terraces, and solved both challenges. The first stonewall became the backdrop for an outdoor kitchen and dining terrace. The second acted as a retaining wall for the bulk of the higher grade and as support for the decks and steps. The third one acted as a lower retaining wall and support for a long wooden bench, steps and the decks. Native trees, shrubs, annuals and groundcovers were used to complement and shape the outdoor spaces and soften hardscape elements. The client also requested a gym pavilion to be built at the edge of an existing forest. The architects and our firm followed a similar strategy, to place, support and landscape the new building.  

Landscape Design: Mauricio Del Valle Design
Architecture: Formwork
Horticulture: Michelle Smith Fine Gardening
Lighting Design: G2J
Construction: Ilex
Landscape Installation: Earth Tones
Photography: MDVD

Size: 1 acre
Type: Single-Family Residencial Landscape
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

The simple planting geometry and plant palette of this garden are a result of the client’s wish for a landscape of minimum maintenance and large expand gathering lawn spaces. Beds of flowering pink Muhlenbergia grass and white Miscanthus grass shape the lawn areas while clusters of mature, new and existing, coconut palm trees create a shading canopy. The coconut palms make for perfect balance of light and shadow to allow outdoor living under the endless Florida sky. The presence of river and pool water complements the beauty of the outdoors and helps form cooling breezes that ease the summer heat. Two courtyards and a large planter, formed by the architecture, create a direct connection between building and nature. They are simply blanketed with lilies, mondo grass and white pebbles following the inspiration of the minimal architecture of renowned Florida architect Max Strang. Young Parkinsonia trees were planted in these same areas to provide summer and fall color. The front entry and vehicular areas are made of large concrete pads that are woven by lines and blankets of grass reminiscent of the entertaining areas.

Landscape Design: Mauricio Del Valle Design
Architecture: Strang Design
Landscape Installation: Dias Landscapes
Photography: MDVD

Size: 7,500 square feet
Type: Single-Family Residencial Landscape 
Location: Miami Beach, FL

A new swimming pool and spa were designed as a physical connection between an existing historic house and a new guest cottage. The guest cottage had to be built more than three feet above the elevation of the house due to local codes. We used this requirement as an opportunity to create a split-slate cascade that is fed by the water that spills out of the elevated spa on the cottage side. The small waterfall helps oxygenate the water and becomes part of the filtration system for both pool and spa. On the house side, a large wide landing and steps were provided for furniture and planters. Coralina stone was used for the pool deck to stay within the house style while black pearl Pebble Tec was used as the pool finish to increase the sensation of depth. Slender palms, and somewhat mature trees, were placed strategically to provide shade for pool gatherings and keep the historic house always in-view, another requirement of the local codes.

Landscape Design: Mauricio Del Valle Design in collaboration with Collaborative Independent
Architecture: Trio Design Consultants
Landscape Installation: Eco Green
Photography: Provided by Client

Size: 17,674 square feet
Type: Single-Family Residencial Landscape
Location: Miami Beach, FL

The size of this spec hose combined with the somewhat awkward shape of the lot left little room for a garden; however, we were able to install enough plants to make the house feel as if it were surrounded by green. The narrow side yards were planted with tall, slender bamboo and native stoppers to create appropriate backdrops for the many rooms that face them, provide privacy from the neighboring properties, and allow pedestrian access. Existing canary and royal palms were mixed with wild date palms, along the entry, and coconut palms, around the swimming pool, to add shade, canopy density and frame water views. The wild date palm locations and paver specifications informed the design concept of a simple, yet elegant, driveway and entry. The entry pond and side courtyard were the perfect opportunities to bring nature into the common spaces, using tropical foliage and trees mixed with water, gravel, river rock and oolite stone.

Landscape Design: Mauricio Del Valle Design
Architecture: Borges and Associates
Landscape Installation: Reliable Property Services
Photography: MDVD

Size: 16,980 square feet
Type: Single-Family Residential Renovation, Interior & Landscape Design
Location: Key Biscayne, Florida

Not built

A four-story residence forgotten by its original architect had lost all its design poetry as the construction was developed without his guidance. We elaborated a design strategy based on a linear pattern that informed almost every building element and space, from the place of arrival to the most intimate corner. The first-floor exterior wall was cladded on stone to provide a strong visual foundation to the floors above and control the building scale. The same material clads a hanging stair that works its way up to a roof terrace and becomes the residence’s vertical circulation spine. A linear water feature shaped by a low wall and bench, which separate the common outdoor spaces from the private, forms the pedestrian entry with the help of a wooden trellis. The trellis was attached to the low wall to protect visitors from the scorching South Florida sun as they follow the water to the base of the hanging stair. The wooden trellis reappears many times again on the building’s facades, sometimes in the shape of shading devices that provide shelter to outdoor terraces and windows, sometimes in the shape of pivoting doors or lacy railings. An extensive lawn and large lap pool were placed along three outdoor rooms, providing plenty of space for children and adults to gather and play, while complying with flood code requirements. Groups of tall vertical palms and trees were placed in the front and side yards to give shade and contrast the building’s horizontality.

Interior, Exterior and Landscape Design: Mauricio Del Valle Design in collaboration with Collaborative Independent
Sketching: Mauricio Del Valle Design
Rendering: Render Solutions

Size: 17,674 square feet
Type: Single-Family Residencial, Landscape and Interior Renovation
Location: Miami Beach, FL

We were asked to renovate the interior and exterior of an original Rufus Nims house that had been bastardized by innumerable additions throughout the years. The task at hand wasn’t easy as the client didn’t want to lose precious real estate and her budget was very restricted. Our approach was to eliminate every architectural element that had been applied as decoration, demolish unnecessary interior partitions, expose as many original structural elements as we could, and open interior views towards the water. The common interior spaces became the appropriate environment to showcase the client’s private art collection. The master bedroom and bathroom were reconfigured and connected to create the feel of a small private spa. Outdoors, the pool deck concrete base was exposed, polished and cut out to open room for new ground covers and to help alleviate bad drainage. The pool was refinished with a dark plaster and a semi-round bench with water spouts was built next to it to give it the look of a fountain, enhance the filtration system and mark the main entry. Existing large banyan trees were protected and strategically pruned to create the right amount of shade and light around the pool deck. On the water side, two wood decks were designed to connect the indoors with the outdoors, with the help of an existing wood trellis that was repaired and simplified. Beds of tall grasses, native vines and granite screenings were used to achieve the look of an understated beach house.

Interior, Exterior and Landscape Design: Mauricio Del Valle Design in collaboration with Collaborative Independent
Construction: Professional Building Solutions
Landscape Installation: Tropical Falls
Photography: Dale Stain and MDVD

Size: 15,000 square feet
Type: Multifamily Building Landscape
Location: Miami Beach, Florida

We designed a square pond, in which two round planters house small red mangrove trees, and develop the whole yard layout around this feature. The pond became the creative force that shaped stepping pads and pedestrian walkways for the property. The stepping pads were also set as viewing platforms that intersect the pond edge to allow for close observation of the pond’s koi fish. Black and white river rock, installed in simple geometrical patterns, was used to clad all hardscape elements; while loose white river rock and sand were used to surround the pond edge and form meandering service paths among the planting. The most conspicuous element in the planting was an existing indigenous strangler fig that tops over fifty feet as it shades and roofs the whole space. Its bready trunk acted as the sentinel who welcomed every user to the property. Ninety five percent of new trees, palms, shrubs and groundcovers were natives that could take the brakeage water intrusion that is sporadically experienced around the area.

Landscape Design: Mauricio Del Valle Design
Architecture: Charles H Benson and Associates
Landscape Installation: Superior Landscaping
Photography: MDVD

Size: 37,885 square feet
Type: Single-Family Residencial Landscape
Location: Miami, Florida

Landscape Design: Mauricio Del Valle Design
Architecture: Village Architects of Key Biscayne
Landscape Installation: Reliable Property Services
Photography: MDVD

Size: 16,500 square feet
Type: Single-Family Residencial Landscape
Location: Coral Gables, FL

There wasn’t a single plant at the site when we started working on this suburban property that featured extensive views of the Atlantic Ocean. Per client request, those views were not to be blocked by one leave. For the young husband and wife, the number two requirement was privacy and blockage of the two neighboring houses that were ever present from the moment one approached the site. Lush planting, a lawn for the kids to play, and lots of shade were also part of the wish list, as was the design of a car court that looked and functioned as an extension of the garden. Young, but full of character, live oaks and yellow tabebuyas were planted to provide enough canopy to grant the shading wish, while clumps of seabreeze bamboo and silver buttonwood shrubs made the neighbors disappear almost from the moment they were installed. Meandering paths of white tiny pebbles and zoysia grass where laid out along organically-shaped areas of tall grasses, lilies and wild coffee to make the user feel as if being on a trail to a hidden beach.

Landscape Design: Mauricio Del Valle Design
Architecture: IG Group
Landscape Installation: Kip Christ Landscape
Photography: MDVD

Size: 10,400 square feet
Type: Single-Family Residencial Landscape
Location: Miami Beach, FL

Our good friend, “starquitect” and mentor, Rene Gonzalez, asked me to work on the landscape design for this avant-garde residence. The house was inspired by the red-mangrove system of prop roots, which it develops as a way to adapt to the fluctuating water levels of its environment. My idea was to follow the architect’s lead by designing a landscape shaped by the movement, accumulation and percolation of rainwater around the site. A series of earth mounds and shell paths are laid out to keep water away from the structure and direct it to shallow retention areas, where it slowly percolates. The mounds provide the ground for tropical bamboo, large aroids and exotic plants that were the only requirement made by client. He comes to the house to scape the cold weather of the northern latitudes where he lives. Tropical-looking plant material, native to Florida, is mixed with the exotic to comply with code requirements. The stepping pads, driveway and car court are built from local coral stone cut in a number of different sizes and laid in a way that appears random, but that is designed to the last inch. Hardscape outlines maintain the organic character that the rainwater movement gives to the whole garden. At the end, the garden is meant to be enjoyed from the elevated level of the house as it opens its doors and embraces nature. There a roof garden that contributes to rainwater and heat management, which is complemented with a roof deck and an outdoor Jacuzzi, all to create a wholistic experience of the South Florida outdoors.

Landscape Design: Mauricio Del Valle Design
Architecture: Rene Gonzalez Architects
Landscape Installation: Eco Green
Photography: Michael Stavaridis and MDVD

Size: 37,976 square feet
Type: Single-Family Residencial Landscape
Location: Miami, Florida

An existing pool and Jacuzzi desperate for an upgrade were retrofitted with a large exposed concrete deck and stepping concrete pads that find their way to parking areas, entries and driveways. A concrete bench was set at the deck’s northeast corner to house an outdoor shower and pool equipment. The pool-deck concrete was sanded to create a much more polished finish and expose the aggregate. The driveway, pathway and parking concrete surfaces were treated with rock salt in order to provide more traction for pedestrian traffic. Large rectangular areas of zoysia grass were interlocked with the hardscape to supply plenty of room for adult and child play. A planting plan was designed for the clients to implement in phases. They want to see their garden develop as their two boys grow and participate in the endeavor.

Landscape Design: Mauricio Del Valle Design
Hardscape Construction: Professional Building Solutions
Landscape Installation: Reliable Property Services
Photography: MDVD

Size: 600 square feet
Type: Condominium Interior Renovation
Location: Miami Beach, Florida

This six hundred-square foot, one-bedroom apartment was turned into a mini-loft in order to maximize space use. While a shoestring budget called for imaginative design solutions, iconic lighting and furniture pieces were added to elevate the design to a higher level. All interior partitions were taken down, except for one that separates the bathroom from the rest of the space, which became the kitchen back. This wall was cladded with square white tile, as were all the bathroom walls, floor and ceiling. Reclaimed stainless steel tables and restaurant equipment were used as kitchen cabinets, countertops and sofa bases. Inexpensive door skin panels were stained burgundy and finished with high-gloss polyurethane to form a reflective monolithic base that created an illusion of luxury. This illusion was complemented with the use of a bamboo Koura pendant, designed by David Trubridge, as it casts patterns of light around the whole room.

Interior Design: Mauricio Del Valle Design
Photography: Robin Hill and MDVD
Construction: Z.J.I. Construction

Size: 88,374 square feet
Type: Art-Collection Building Landscape
Location: Miami, Florida

Currently Under Design Development

The bold form of this building, with its dramatic cantilevered entry volume, required a simple landscape design approach to ensure that the garden acted as a backdrop for the art and architecture. The landscape’s most relevant element is a courtyard was divided in two parts by the placement of hardscape and softscape. The larger paved area in the courtyard will house a long Richard Serra sculpture in the shape of corten-steel serpentine walls. The soft area will be planted with twenty-seven pond cypress trees that will be reminiscent of the Deep South swamps. Pond cypress trees were selected, apart from their great deal of character, for their narrow-growing habit, stability and strength against storms. Eighteen more cypress trees will be planted on the north side of the courtyard, along the sidewalk, creating a small patch of urban forest that will provide a substantial amount of shade and cooling for the outdoor spaces. Around the site, along the three surrounding roads and the parking lot, there will be a tapestry of turf, native tall grasses, tall sansevierias, liriope and granite screenings. This will support a variety of trees and palms strategically placed to enhance the outdoor ambience while allowing for constant views of the architecture and art.

Landscape Design: Mauricio Del Valle Design
Landscape Consulting: Mak Work
Architecture: Rene Gonzalez Architects
Construction: Skanska
Sketching: Mauricio Del Valle Design
Rendering: Azeez Bakare Studios

Size: 23,760 square feet
Type: Single-Family Residential Landscape
Location: Miami Beach, FL

Landscape Design: Mauricio Del Valle Design
Architecture: Choeff Levy Fischman
Landscape Installation: Greensource Maintenance
Photography: Provided by Client and MDVD

Size: square feet
Type: Single-Family Residencial Landscape
Location: Miami Beach, FL

Landscape Design: Mauricio Del Valle Design
Landscape Installation: Eco Green
Photography: MDVD

Size: 1,572 square feet
Type: Museum Art Installation (Art Basel 2015)
Location: The Wolfsonian - Florida International University, Miami Beach Florida

Installation Design: Mauricio Del Valle Design in collaboration with Veronika Shunk
Sketching: Mauricio Del Valle Design
Photography: Veronika Shunk

Size: 243 square feet (Location Area)
Type: Art Installation (Art Basel 2016)
Location: Miami Beach Florida

Installation Design: Mauricio Del Valle Design and Manny Del Valle

Size: 72,484 square feet
Type: Multifamily Building Landscape
Location: Miami, FL

Landscape Design: Mauricio Del Valle Design
Landscape Installation: Superior Landscaping
Photography: MDVD

Size: 15,000 square feet
Type: Multifamily Building Landscape
Location: Miami Beach, Florida

Landscape Design: Mauricio Del Valle Design
Photography: MDVD