01 · Urban ecology
Riverroom Commons
A floodable civic park that turns seasonal water into an everyday public amenity through terraces, wetlands and shaded social edges.
View project story →Landscape Architecture · Place + Ecology
Designing land with memory.
I’m Maya Rao, a landscape architect shaping resilient public realms, restorative gardens and living infrastructure where ecology and everyday life meet.
Contour / 07Topography translated into a living visual language.
“A successful landscape feels inevitable, as if water, shade, people and plants always belonged together.”
Design philosophyThe practice
From site reading to living systems.
I work across urban landscapes, campuses and private gardens, using site intelligence to make spaces that are generous, climate-aware and deeply connected to their context.
My portfolio balances precise grading and planting strategy with tactile, human-scale experiences. Every proposal begins by reading sun, soil, movement, water and the stories already present in the land.
18Built + delivered landscapes
9Years shaping places
42Planting palettes developed
Field notes
Expertise that grows from the site.
My strongest work sits between ecological performance and beautiful, legible public experience.
Site + Master Planning
Spatial frameworks, circulation, zoning
Spatial frameworks, circulation, zoning
Planting Design
Seasonality, habitat, composition
Seasonality, habitat, composition
Green Infrastructure
Stormwater, shade, urban cooling
Stormwater, shade, urban cooling
Construction Documentation
Details, specifications, coordination
Details, specifications, coordination
Public Realm Design
Streetscapes, plazas, parks
Streetscapes, plazas, parks
Climate-responsive Design
Heat, water, resilience, comfort
Heat, water, resilience, comfort
Selected work
Landscapes with a point of view.
A selection of projects where contour, canopy, water and movement become one coherent system.
02 · Campus landscape
Canopy Court
A learning landscape built around a mature tree grove, outdoor classrooms and a cooling rain garden.
03 · Residential
Monsoon Garden
A tactile courtyard where rain chains, stone paths and layered planting make the weather visible.
04 · Public realm
Market Green
A shaded pedestrian spine reconnecting a neighborhood market to its streets, pocket gardens and transit stop.
05 · Research
Soil Commons
An experimental planting field exploring low-input urban habitat and soil regeneration.
Work process
Draw less. Observe more.
The workflow moves like a landscape: from broad systems to intimate details.
01
Read
Map climate, contours, movement, water, vegetation and the cultural signals of the site.
02
Frame
Build a clear spatial story around access, ecology, program and long-term maintenance.
03
Grow
Translate strategy into planting, grading, material and water systems with technical rigor.
04
Care
Design for seasons, stewardship and change so the landscape improves with time.
Experience
Selected practice timeline.
2022-Now
Studio Fieldline · Lead Landscape Architect
Leading public-realm and climate-resilience projects from concept through construction.
2019-22
Terra Assembly · Landscape Designer
Developed planting systems, grading strategies and competition narratives across South Asia.
2017-19
Atelier Ground · Junior Landscape Architect
Produced drawings, details and site studies for gardens, hospitality and institutional landscapes.
Education
M.L.A. · Landscape Architecture
Research focus: monsoon landscapes, urban heat and regenerative public space.
Let’s shape a place
Have a site worth listening to?
Tell me what you’re planning, where it lives and what you want the landscape to make possible.
✉ maya@example.com
☎ +91 98450 33217
◈ Bengaluru, India