Search
Creative Minds

Creative Mind: Enzo Enea

The Swiss landscape designer and Tree Museum founder orchestrates painterly landscapes that enhance captivating architectural wonders around the globe

By Caroline Roux
Man in glasses and blue shirt focused on architectural blueprints at desk with sketches and designs in the background.
Enzo Enea. Photo: COURTESY OF ENEA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

While Enzo Enea is one of the most prolific landscape designers working today, with customary Swiss stealth, he seems to fly under the radar. With offices in Zurich, Milan, Miami, and New York, his company currently has projects far and wide, from the Four Seasons in Cartagena, Colombia, to the Peninsula Hotel in Istanbul and the twisting towers by Bjarke Ingels on the High Line in New York.

“Every place has a different geology, rainfall, sunshine,” he says. “We measure everything, so first we are analysts, then we are engineers, then we become artists, and finally the architects of the landscape.”

Colorful garden with vibrant flowers and shrubs on a hillside, with a scenic view of mountains and a modern house in the background.
A private garden in Kea, Greece by Enzo Enea. Photo: COURTESY OF ENEA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
Colorful structure surrounded by vibrant garden with trees and purple flowers on a sunny day.

It’s at home in Rapperswil-Jona, near Zurich, that Enea’s philosophy shines most brightly. Here, in 2010, he opened his Tree Museum, an incredible arboreal collection that covers an 18.5-acre site. Among the many specimens flourishing are ancient examples that he saved from construction sites, including a Japanese maple dating from 1895 and a horse chestnut from 1902, as well as a significant number of sculptures, not least Sylvie Fleury’s exquisite metallic mushrooms.

“First we are analysts, then we are engineers, then we become artists, and finally the architects of the landscape”

enzo enea

Philosophy: “Beauty will come if you follow nature itself,” he says. “I plant like the rainforest, in gradual layers, and that in itself brings sustainability.”

Modern building facade with large windows and trees planted on the rooftop, reflecting blue sky on a sunny day.
A private garden in Carré Belge in Cologne, Germany by Enzo Enea. Photo: HG ESCH PHOTOGRAPHY, COURTESY OF INGENHOVEN ARCHITECTS

Up next: He is focused on the gardens at the storied Art Deco Raleigh hotel in Miami, conserving its famously curvaceous pool while adding three more. 

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2024 Spring Issue under the headline “Creative Minds.” Subscribe to the magazine.