GROSS.MAX. - portrait of contemporary European landscape architecture

Ateliér GROSS.MAX. was founded in 1995 by partners Bridget Baines and Eelco Hooftman. After several years of collaboration with the WEST8 studio in the Netherlands, they were joined in 2001 by Nigel Sampey as a third partner. GROSS.MAX. is generally regarded as one of the few studios based in the United Kingdom that represents the work of the new generation of contemporary European landscape architecture. Today, the studio consists of about fifteen permanent members.
The studio has a great range of practice in terms of collaboration and the localization of projects worldwide. Its work is characterized by interdisciplinary communication in project creation – collaborating with a variety of architects, landscape architects, artists, and experts from other professions. Examples include Amanda Levete, David Chipperfield, Foster + Partners, Piet Oudolf, Shinichi Ogawa & Associates, or Zaha Hadid. The work of the studio reflects a very strong relationship with art – GROSS.MAX. has won the ‘Art for Architecture’ award from the Royal Society of Arts three times. Its work was also presented at the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2006.
Their first joint work in 1996 was also the winning project in the competition for two parks at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. Soon followed another winning project - a complete landscape plan for EXPO 2000 in Hanover. The studio gained recognition for its contextual approach to urban public space, particularly after the competition for the redesign of Whiteinch Square (part of the Glasgow’ 99 – City of Architecture project) and for winning first prize in the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) competition for the redesign of the square in front of the Hackney Town Hall.
The studio has independently won several competitions for the redesign of squares in London, such as St. John’s Square, Lyric Square, and Brixton Central Square. In practice, it has received numerous awards in international competitions with Zaha Hadid Architects - for example, for landscape modifications at the BMW plant in Leipzig, for landscape design for a new high-speed train station around Naples, or for the urban plan for the former dock area along the Nervion River in Bilbao. Among recently completed projects are Lyric Square in London, Rottenrow Gardens in Glasgow, Potters Field Park in London, and The New Bullring square in Birmingham.
GROSS.MAX. brings a new approach - artistic, philosophical, and experimental landscape architecture aimed at integrating landscape and nature into the urban environment. Hooftman introduces the concept of ‘freely flowing urbanism.’ He looks not only at specific places but also at the space between them – ‘the fabric of the landscape permeating the city’. The studio’s work aims to enhance sensory experiences of the landscape – sight, smell, touch, and hearing. GROSS.MAX. is also known for its distinctly creative visualizations. Following the traditions of landscape painting, they consider ‘pixel to be the pigment and the computer screen the canvas’.
GROSS.MAX was nominated for the European Landscape Award in 2006. The jury found that their individual concept is a significant component in seeking and shaping the direction of landscape architecture at the beginning of the 21st century.