Living sculpture — crafted trees, topiary and arboreal art
TreeDesignStudio designs and cultivates living sculptures — from formal topiary and pleached walkways to bespoke single-tree commissions and sculpted hedgerows. Our practice blends arboricultural science, sculptural design and horticultural patience to create installations that evolve through time. We collaborate with landscape architects, private clients, cultural institutions and urban planners to integrate trained trees as focal features, spatial dividers, or habitat-rich garden elements. Each project begins with a careful site assessment, an understanding of long-term maintenance capacity, and a clear vision for how the living piece will mature over years and decades.
Our studio values a slow-design approach: we consider seasonal structure, growth trajectories, and the sensory qualities that develop with age — filtered light, dappled shade, tactile bark textures and seasonal flowers or fruit. Living sculptures are simultaneously ecological assets and design gestures; they improve microclimate, host pollinators, and enhance human wellbeing while serving as distinctive landmarks in private and public landscapes.
Email: treedesignstudio@icloud.com • Address: Via Lodovico Ariosto, 22, 20145 Milano MI, Italy
A studio approach to tree sculpture
Working with living trees as material requires a unique combination of long-term thinking and nimble craft. We begin with species selection that matches local climate, soil and the intended aesthetic. Some commissions call for tightly pruned formal topiary that asserts a geometric profile year-round; others favour "cloud pruning" or niwaki-inspired shaping where branch clouds are trained to create layered volumes that frame views and capture light. We also specialize in pleaching — the technique of training stems and branches into a raised hedge or living screen — which creates elegant alleys and shaded promenades that are simultaneously architectural and botanical.
Our process is iterative. Initial trials are often planted in controlled nursery conditions and pre-formed with temporary supports. Once on site, the early years focus on establishment: suitable root-zone preparation, irrigation provisioning, and gentle formative pruning that shapes scaffold branches without excessive stress. Over time, maintenance pruning refines the silhouette, encourages desired branching patterns, and reduces pathogen risk. We provide clients with a clear maintenance schedule tuned to the species and form: annual formative trims, periodic structural checks, and soil health interventions to nourish long-term vigor.
Collaboration is central to our practice. We work closely with architects to ensure that planting integrates with hardscape, drainage and lighting. For public commissions we plan for accessibility and safety, ensuring sightlines are maintained and root systems are contained to prevent pavement uplift. For private estates we balance spectacle with intimacy, tailoring shapes and scales so living sculptures complement domestic spaces without overwhelming them. Our work is also ecological: we favor native and regionally adapted cultivars where appropriate, plant for seasonal resources for pollinators and birds, and select rootstocks and planting techniques that support long-term resilience to climate variability.
