Martha Schwartz Partners (MSP) is a leading international design practice whose work focuses on activating and regenerating urban sites and city centres. Situated at the intersection of public realm, urban design and site specific art, MSP has 40 years of experience designing and implementing installations, gardens, civic plazas, parks, institutional landscapes, corporate headquarters, master plans, and urban regeneration projects. MSP works with city leaders, planners and builders at a strategic level so as to advocate for the inclusion of the public landscape as a means to achieve environmental, economic and social sustainability. MSP’s work demonstrates a deep commitment to the urban landscape as it performs as the platform for sustainable cities that are healthy across all aspects, sectors, and domains of urban life.
With offices in London, New York and Shanghai, MSP is engaged in projects and consultation around the globe and has to date worked on projects in over 40 countries and six continents. The core team of design professionals consists of landscape architects, urban planners, architects, horticulturalists, field implementation specialists, and senior project managers, with backgrounds from Europe, North America and Asia. This diversity in disciplines and backgrounds affords MSP the agility to work across all scales and cultures, and allows its team to be nimble in even the most challenging urban and social contexts. In addition to its core team of professionals, MSP collaborates intensively with many internationally known architects and external consultants, expanding the breadth of the practice and enabling effective response to any scale of planning or design problem.
MSP understands the urban landscape as the platform upon which human and natural environments can be brought into an artful balance. The engagement of people by bringing delight and playfulness to urban life is fundamental to the practice’s process. The practice strives to create places that are used and beloved by people. Through their design, the practice champions the human need for connection, identity and enjoyment. The creation of humane spaces can, as a result, positively impact sustainability by supporting density and the benefits and efficiencies gained through urban living. MSP’s expertise and commitment to landscape as a means for activating urban sites have led to the design of highly effective and well used public and private spaces. The team’s landscapes, installations, and large urban projects continue to shape the environments they are part of and the lives of the people who use them.
MSP has continually been recognized for its contribution to the field of landscape architecture. The firm has received many international award recognitions, including the ASLA Landmark Award, the ASLA Honour Award, the British Association of Landscape Industries Award in the Regeneration Category, the Chicago Athenaeum Award for Best New Global Design, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award and the Urban Land Institute Award for Excellence.
