Practice

PRACTICE

Simon Ellis Landscape Architects (SELA) is an award-winning Melbourne-based practice that has worked on a diverse range of projects, from playspaces, parks and sculpture gardens, to schools, homes, hospitals, civic infrastructure and environmental projects.

VALUES AND ETHICS

Our practice aims to create robust and sustainable landscapes that are respectful of their sites and broader social and environmental contexts. We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land where we work, and also the First Nations people where each project is located – including elders past, present and emerging.

COLLABORATION

SELA works collaboratively with clients, artists, architects, engineers and design teams to achieve holistic outcomes that integrate art, architecture, landscape and urban design with best-practice outcomes. Well-considered transitions create a continuity between landscape and building, and we collaborate with design teams to ensure that every project is cohesive and seamless.

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN

The ability for the landscape to reuse storm water, slow it down and make it available for plants to absorb and transpire is a primary objective at our practice. Projects with water-sensitive initiatives result in well-functioning and thriving landscapes that are sustainable and positively impact on the quality and quantity of storm water at a site and precinct level.

Wherever possible, we give precedence to natural materials with low embodied energy that have good longevity. Manufactured materials are ideally from recycled materials or of a long-lasting quality.

Plant palettes are eclectic but always respect the local environment and context. We often use indigenous species, and every care is taken to ensure that plants chosen are appropriate to the local climate and environment.