Meet Rodrigo Oliveira, landscape architect to some of Brazil’s finest buildings

‘A garden has to be imperfect, intuitive, instinctive,’ says Brazilian landscape architect Rodrigo Oliveira. It’s a philosophy that has made him one of Brazil's most sought-after landscape professionals. A naturalistic perspective – inspired by Japanese garden methodology and the asymmetric beauty of nature itself – has defined Oliveira's 30-year career. Rather than imposing order on the landscape, he creates what he calls 'spontaneous-looking gardens that blend seamlessly into the surroundings’. The result is deceptively simple: gardens that appear as if nothing was deliberately done there, yet achieve profound harmony between built form and nature.

We meet and chat with Rodrigo Oliveira

The journey to this mindset began in Oliveira’s hometown of Paraná in southern Brazil, where gardens were an intrinsic part of his childhood. ‘I used to take care of the gardens in all the houses we lived in,’ he recalls. And when landscaping was not yet a 'big thing’, he studied agronomy at the Federal University of Viçosa, graduating in 1993. After working under contract with other landscape companies and studying arboriculture in Florida for a year, he established his independent practice, Rodrigo Oliveira Paisagismo in 2005.

Today, his São Paulo-based studio is one of Brazil’s most respected landscape practices and employs 40 people, including architects, engineers, marketing specialists, and dedicated gardeners. The breakthrough that transformed Oliveira’s career came in 2005 through an unexpected collaboration, when Isay Weinfeld invited him to create a garden for the house the architect was designing for the Brazilian film director Hector Babenco in São Paulo. Oliveira seized the opportunity to create something genuinely natural. ‘That was the key point in the beginning of my career and changed my path completely,’ he reflects.

The garden featured a dramatic approach where visitors entered from the street into what Weinfeld has described as ‘a forest’ – a long meandering walk through dense foliage without sight of the house, until a sudden turn brings Casa Babenco into view. This cinematic experience, befitting a collaboration with a film director, established Oliveira's reputation for creating landscapes that unfold like carefully crafted narratives. The project led to ongoing partnerships with Brazil's architectural elite – Bernardes Arquitetura, and Studio Arthur Casas, among them.

The Patios House, designed by Studio MK27, exemplifies Oliveira's naturalistic approach. Located on Rio de Janeiro's coast, the beach house features landscaped courtyards that serve as delicate threads connecting built elements and outdoor spaces. Equally impressive is the AEA House by Jacobsen Arquitetura, set within 7,000 square metres of dense forest near Rio de Janeiro. Here, Oliveira's naturalistic philosophy finds perfect expression. The landscape preserves existing vegetation of mature trees and exposed rock formations to create a seamless fusion between the new garden and the surrounding environment.

Oliveira is currently working on the Amauri 306 Building in São Paulo, another Isay Weinfeld project. It is a further refinement of his practice, where gardens distributed across different floors blend seamlessly with the physical architecture. Developers, he observes, appreciate ‘gardens in their buildings, not just for the aesthetic, but for the city environment too’.

This appreciation reflects Oliveira's understanding of landscape's broader role in contemporary Brazil, his naturalistic approach offering a compelling alternative to more formal design traditions. By embracing what he calls the ‘irregularity’ of natural systems – their textures, movement, and seasonality – Oliveira is creating gardens that evolve beautifully over time while requiring minimal maintenance. In a world increasingly concerned with environmental stewardship, his philosophy resonates. The best gardens don't fight nature. They celebrate it.