terrain is a landscape architecture firm based in New York City that specializes in ecologically-sound design for the urban environment. Founded in 2004, our work assumes an infrastructural context - each project, no matter its size, is part of a network of urban and ecological connections. Our projects explore the potential of the site, creating meaningful open space in under-utilized or otherwise overlooked space. We embrace the energy of the city and magnify the role of nature within it, leading to projects that are refuges, but not retreats from the city.

At the same time, our projects, from the pocket garden to the waterfront master plan, are infused with a sense of craft. This idea of craft is at the root of the firm's design process: projects are realized through the meticulous attention to detail. The details of each project express the point of view of the project as a whole - through materiality, vegetation, and connections to urban life. From the beginning of a project we think of the detail, embedding the small moments of experience into the larger whole of the project. It is this emphasis on detail that brings the aesthetic of craft into our work, no matter what the scale. It is an active approach that is focused on making, making our cities better by rolling up our sleeves and building. 

Our design process begins with the site visit, teasing out the potential of the site. As the project develops, we explore program, exhaustively thinking how space is used, and how it could be used. We make this process collaborative, with repeated meetings with clients and the public. Getting into the detail of program helps to guide the long term development and trajectory of a project. And we have found that paying careful attention to our collaborators - community, clients and the entire design team - often leads to moments of opportunity. Our working methods do not overwhelm or strong-arm a site, but find its latent opportunities, making subtle moves that transform.