Most developers are used to viewing landscaping as one of the final stages of project implementation – the moment when the core construction work is completed and all that remains is to “add aesthetics” to the space. In practice, however, the reality looks very different. The most expensive mistakes affecting timelines, budgets, and overall project quality are often formed long before the first tree, pathway, or architectural feature is installed. Martin Palma, founder and CEO of Ecolandscape Studio, sees this as one of the key systemic problems in modern development – landscape architecture is too often brought into a project only after critically important decisions have already been made. As a result, landscaping is forced to adapt to limitations that could have been prevented at the master planning stage.
The problem begins when architectural, engineering, and spatial planning evolve separately from one another. During the early phases of a project, attention is typically focused on building layouts, infrastructure, parking solutions, engineering systems, and maximizing commercial efficiency per square meter. Landscaping is often treated as a secondary task that can be addressed later. This approach ultimately becomes the source of systemic conflicts. Poorly planned elevation changes, ineffective placement of engineering коммуникации, and the absence of logical pedestrian and traffic flow create limitations that later require complex and costly adjustments. Specialists at Ecolandscape Studio believe that most landscaping-related issues are not the result of poor execution, but rather the consequence of strategic planning mistakes made long before implementation begins.
Engineering coordination errors are among the most critical. When drainage systems, irrigation infrastructure, lighting networks, and landscape planning are designed by separate teams without a unified strategy, the risk of conflict rises dramatically. During implementation, teams may discover overlaps between underground utilities and tree root systems, insufficient technical service zones, or the inability to properly manage water runoff. Such issues rarely appear catastrophic on technical drawings, but on a real construction site they quickly turn into major financial losses. At Ecolandscape Studio, we analyze numerous completed projects and consistently observe how delayed involvement of a landscape team leads to budget overruns, timeline delays, and compromise-driven solutions that reduce the final quality of the environment.
Another common problem is the underestimation of user experience scenarios. A space may be technically feasible and visually expensive, yet still fail to function well for people. If circulation logic, gathering points, private areas, relaxation zones, and social interaction spaces are not considered early enough, the project loses a significant portion of its value. Buyers and end users evaluate environments not only visually but through physical and emotional experience. Movement comfort, intuitive navigation, and spatial perception directly influence the commercial success of a project. Specialists at Ecolandscape Studio note that high-quality landscape design does not begin with plants – it begins with understanding how people will live, move, and interact within a space every single day.
The financial consequences of involving landscape architects too late are often underestimated. Correcting mistakes during the planning phase costs significantly less than rebuilding completed solutions. Any changes made after construction begins affect contractors, procurement schedules, logistics, and delivery timelines. This creates a chain reaction of additional expenses. We believe that effective landscaping starts not with a planting plan but with the early integration of landscape strategy into the overall architectural concept of the project. The earlier a cohesive vision of the environment is established, the higher the final quality and the lower the financial risk.
The market is becoming increasingly demanding when it comes to environmental quality, and the cost of mistakes continues to rise. Landscaping can no longer be viewed as a final decorative layer added to a completed asset. At Ecolandscape Studio, we see early involvement of landscape architects as a strategic advantage that allows developers not only to avoid costly problems but also to create more liquid, competitive, and commercially successful projects. That is precisely why 90% of problems on a project truly begin long before the first stage of landscaping – at the moment when the space is still only being designed.
