Their gardens are organic, intuitive — and ordered, manicured to perfection. DDS Projects designs landscapes that not only enrich communities with their beauty but also protect the natural environment. We spoke to Danie Steenkamp to learn more about his sensitive curation that maintains ecological integrity.
What interests you about landscape architecture?
I grew up on a farm in the Klein Karoo; my dad was a fruit farmer, and my mother was a florist and gardener, so it was a very natural choice for me to go into this space. I officially started DDS about 14 years ago. What makes us different is that we’re not contractors, but we’re also not just designers. We’re really involved from inception all the way through to execution and there’s a lot of value in being actively involved in the process. As we respond to the site, as the site reveals itself, we get the opportunity to change our design and adjust accordingly.
What has your career taught you about nature?
It’s very humbling to work with nature. Especially working in the outdoors where your projects are exposed to the elements, and specifically in a time where the climate is getting more and more extreme. You then have to free yourself from control. You have to let nature be the teacher. And it makes sense to look at natural patterns, the plant communities, and systems and try to mimic that on site.
What impact do you hope your work will have on people?
It’s to change people’s perception of beauty, for people to appreciate wild landscapes and things that are slightly looser and not as tame. And to change people’s perspective on what a garden can and should be. Spaces are inherently emotive, and you can kind of control how people feel with certain design choices. Planting, in particular, interests me because it has the ability to evoke feeling.
Can you explain your design approach? How do you tailor each project to its intended function, history, and context?
We have a very gentle approach. I’m extremely aware of context and the natural world around me and I believe that there are certain nuances and subtleties that one must be very sensitive to in order to respond appropriately. Responding to the site is important. If you look closely there are many cues that can help inform the design. Understanding nature helps as it becomes possible to make minor tweaks that harness nature as a tool to create wonderful landscapes.
Tell us more about your approach to resilience.
Resilience is a key to successful landscapes, and I think what makes a landscape resilient is for it to be ‘of the place’ and not ‘of the moment’ so we focus on the opportunities and constraints of each site and really try and work with this rather than against it.
How do you honour and respect the natural environment in your work?
I have a deep appreciation for nature, and I think being sympathetic to the natural world and taking cues from the environment and landscape help guide our design process. There are cultural plant groupings that create really powerful associations and strengthen the sense of place, both of which anchor buildings to the landscape. Gardens, especially in the rural or agricultural contexts where most of our projects are based, play a vital role in connecting the architecture to the natural world — a means to weave the man made into the wild.
“Spaces are inherently emotive, and you can kind of control how people feel with certain design choices.”
