Landscape Series: Sítio Roberto Burle Marx
During my 3 weeks in Brazil, I had the delightful opportunity to visit many amazing places and witness some truly spectacular vistas, but nothing, NOTHING, compared to my 2 hours walking the private home and garden of the late and great Roberto Burle Marx. As a fellow landscape designer, I have a slight bias to places like this. Sorry Sugarloaf.
Sítio Roberto Burle Marx is located about 90 minutes outside of Rio de Janeiro. The stunning 40-hectare compound is a meticulously maintained legacy of one of the greatest tropical-modern landscape designers ever. On full display are over 3,500 species of tropical plants, lush groves of mature trees and palms, swaths of textured understory shrubs, gently curving roads and paths, mesmerizing water elements, sloping topography, Marx’s signature modern architectural elements and alluring art and sculptures; among many other things.
Roberto Burle Marx had a dynamic awareness when designing his gardens. He had a keen sense of mobility through a space and an ability to capture the sculptural essence of plants and showcase them. His use of water elements for balance and his ability to expand the architecture of buildings into the landscape are remarkable, and this site is no exception.
I really only first became aware of the genius and importance of Burle Marx after studying landscape architecture in the tropical setting of Miami at Florida International University. What’s more, I was privileged enough to have my first professional job out of school at no other than Raymond Jungles, Inc., who was a disciple of the one and only Marx and shares many of the fundamental design concepts that we used often in our gardens.
I was truly overwhelmed with the amount of beauty I saw, both in the variety of plant species and the designed spaces. I think the most striking feature, however, was the scale of it all; the tens of thousands of plants; the amazing views from the side of a mountain where the site sits; the use of large expanses of the same species for dramatic effect with perfectly placed accents; it all was just gorgeous.
And although it may look like all the trees and shrubs all just naturally started growing where they lay, don’t be fooled. The site was a former banana farm and almost every component was considered and positioned where it is now, like a tropical Central Park. There is something very special about this place, and I think the Brazilians know it.
As a matter of procedure, you can’t just show up and walk through the compound. There is a strict process of reserving your time to visit and security was always around, even during the tour. The guards kept howling at me to hurry up, snap my pics and and return to the group. Can’t a guy snap several hundred photos of the same plant…geez?. Also, the tour was in Portuguese, but English is offered. Most of the guests spoke English, but the guide, Gabi, stuck to Portuguese. She was very nice and answered specific questions in English if we had any.
After over 2 hours of walking, photo taking and mosquito slapping, I was extremely satisfied with the tour. And as we were heading out, someone casually mentioned, “Isn’t it a shame Roberto can’t see his garden now and how well it’s all grown in.” I thought about that for a moment and then I realized; he really didn’t need to see how big the trees would get. As a landscape architect, he knew how they would grow, develop and change for generations. He understood quite well that this place would continuously evolve and be appreciated for many years to come, and that’s a legacy you don’t need to see to be proud of.