Ostuni (Brindisi), Apulia. 2021-2022

Nestled in the plain that leads from the town to the sea, the garden of Ostuni draws inspiration from the Apulian landscape, taking the limits of a context marked by lack of water and salinity and turning them into strengths of a design that feels uber-contemporary in its juxtaposition of austerity and exuberance.

A wall in local tuff stone marks the edges of the garden. However, mixed borders of drought-resistant grasses create the illusion of it blending with the wild prairie beyond its perimeter. The choice of the trees, quintessentially Mediterranean, reflects the surrounding landscape. Finally, the intelligence and modernity of the design is seen in the decision to forgo a lawn—a waste of water and energy—and substitute it with a crushed stone flooring.