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Landscape design for municipalities, public spaces

MUNICIPALITIES &

 PUBLIC SPACES


Landscape design for municipalities, public spaces and urban projects

Public spaces shape daily life — for residents, for visitors, for the city itself.

Squares, courtyards, parks, schoolyards, neglected urban grounds: these are the places where communities meet, walk, rest and remember. Their design is never neutral.

Studio Umilys works with municipalities, intercommunal authorities, public institutions and local collectivities to design landscapes that improve the quality of public life. From the regeneration of a forgotten lot to the redesign of a town square, our practice treats every public commission as a long-term contribution to shared life.





Designing for the long term

A municipal landscape is used by thousands of people over decades.

Its planting must structure a place across seasons. Its materials must age with dignity. Its design must hold meaning beyond the political cycle that commissioned it. And its maintenance must remain realistic for the public teams who will care for it.

Studio Umilys approaches public commissions, design competitions and procurement processes with the rigour these long horizons demand. We collaborate with architects, urbanists, engineering offices and public clients to deliver landscape concepts grounded in ecology, place, use and budget.

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Public landscape as shared social and ecological infrastructure

Well-designed public spaces increase walkability, support biodiversity, regulate urban climate, and create the kind of places where residents are proud to live. Quality public landscape is not decoration — it is a long-term investment in the cohesion of a town or a neighbourhood.

Our approach is built around:

  • Site reading: ecology, history, use, memory
  • Resilient planting structures adapted to public maintenance regimes
  • Urban canopy strategies and biodiversity corridors
  • Inclusive design for all ages and abilities
  • Long-term thinking: a public landscape is read across decades, not seasons
  • Collaboration with architects, urbanists and engineering offices on design competitions and public procurement

Regeneration of neglected urban land

Many of the most meaningful public projects start with what has been forgotten.

Disused industrial grounds, neglected courtyards, vacant lots, abandoned schoolyards — these are not problems to clear away. They are ecological and social opportunities. Studio Umilys has developed specific expertise in the regeneration of degraded urban land, restoring soil activity, reintroducing biodiversity, and giving these places a new role in the life of the town.

This work draws directly on our experimental garden in La Hulpe, a 6,000 m² living laboratory where we test planting resilience and ecological succession on the long term.


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Landscape design for municipalities, public spaces

Let's discuss your public project

If you represent a municipality, a public institution, an intercommunal authority, a school, a cultural organisation or a public developer in Belgium, we would be glad to discuss your project, competition brief or framework agreement.





Book a 30 min visio to talk about your project 

Frequently asked questions




**Which types of public clients do you work with?**


Studio Umilys works with municipalities, communes, provinces, intercommunal authorities, public housing organisations, schools, cultural institutions, public developers and not-for-profit associations. We respond to design competitions, framework agreements and public procurement processes across Belgium.


**Do you respond to public design competitions and procurement notices?**


Yes. Studio Umilys actively participates in design competitions, public procurement procedures, and framework agreements for landscape architecture missions. We collaborate with architects, urbanists and engineering offices on integrated bids when relevant.


**What kinds of public projects do you focus on?**


Our public work covers public squares and town centres, regeneration of neglected and vacant urban land, schoolyards and educational environments, courtyards and public gardens, biodiversity corridors and urban canopy strategies, and ecological restoration of degraded sites.


**Do you work for municipalities across Belgium?**


Yes. Studio Umilys is based in La Hulpe and works for municipalities and public institutions across Brussels, Brabant Wallon, Brabant Flemish and other Belgian regions. Our practice is grounded in Belgian context, regulations and ecological conditions.


**How is a public landscape project different from a private one?**


Public projects involve longer timeframes, broader stakeholder coordination, specific procurement procedures and stricter long-term maintenance considerations. They also offer the unique reward of shaping spaces used by entire communities over decades.