1. DESIGN MAVERICKS YOUNG PROFESSIONALS LIGHTING UP THE PATH OF INDIAN DESIGN
RS 100 HOME-REVIEW.COMvol 15 issue 07 July 2016 total pages 148
TRADITION
AND KITSCHABIN DESIGN STUDIO’S ODE TO BENGAL
DESIGNQUEST : OBJECTRYMY SPACE : FADD STUDIO SPECIALIST : TRUNKS COMPANY
WALLMAKERS’
GREENER THAN GREEN!
WHERE DESIGN MEETS NATURE
BY OPEN IDEAS

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A landscape designed for entertaining, gardening and sunsets.
132 Home Review July 2016

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Art meets Architecture meets
Horticulture – is an equation
underlined by landscape designer
Steve Ritchey in his compelling
creations that respond fully to the
site, region and the specific needs
of the client.
Landscapes
Text By Kanupriya Pachisia
Photographs Seed Studio
ART MEETS
ARCHITECTURE
MEETS
HORTICULTURE
Home Review July 2016 133
Steve founded Seed Studio four years ago
and has since then been exploring the
beautiful connection between nature and
design on all ‘grounds’. Steve’s designs
are aimed at adapting the house to the
environment. The landscape elements that
he plants into his works make the entire
space germinate as a whole.

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He goes on further to explain, “This process
requires an element of artistic vision, though
I would never call myself an artist. There
is a certain magic when the project comes
together with a beautiful elegance. Once a
concept is basically functional, I seek out this
aesthetic purity in my work. You can feel it
when a space has integrity. That has always
been my goal.”
When a designer’s initial approach considers
how the client wants to experience
their outdoor space, the result is always
something unique and personal. His spaces
stand as testimony to some of the most
original and inventive examples of landscape
design. His projects Potrero Hill Lookout and
Portola Writer’s Retreat are worth shifting
the spotlight on.
Steve says, “When I begin a new project
I primarily want to create a space for
the user and provide him with a great
user experience. I work with the existing
elements and spaces and try to instill
feelings of comfort, intimacy and transition.
I ask myself, where does the space feel best?
Where is the vibe lacking? How can I help?
I then add elements as needed, shuffle the
pieces around until they fall into a kind of
order. I call this working with the psychology
of the space.”
The clients requested a garden that could handle a large gathering yet feel intimate for two.
134 Home Review July 2016

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While designing a space, one stumbles
upon certain indispensable elements
that eventually form part of the design
story. Steve shares, “There was an existing
bamboo hedge that provided excellent
screening along one side. I used it as an
anchor for the deck and wall areas.”
Wooden backdrops meet wooden planks
set alive by softly, gleaming tea lights and
a string of glowing bulbs. Fresh vegetation
was woven into the space creating intimate
spaces on a unique material palette. Steve
states, “I love using gravel as it ‘flows’ , I
think of it as water in a different state and
use it to fill spaces in a quiet way. Here it
was used to unify the design and provide a
casual patio.”
Home Review July 2016 135
This is about a landscape designed for
entertaining, gardening and sunsets. The
clients requested a garden that could
handle a large gathering, yet feel intimate
for two. The centerpiece is a Corten steel
wood burning fire pit, surrounded by a seat
height deck with many nooks for gathering,
relaxing and conversation.
An outdoor living room allows comfortable
viewing of the nearby Bernal Hill. Planting
includes succulents compatible with the
rocky soil, bamboo for screening and a
vegetable garden for homemade meals.
Steve explains, “The planting for this project
was driven by the thin rocky soil. In some
areas solid rock was only a foot or so
below grade.”
The centrepiece is a Corten steel wood burning firepit, surrounded by a seat height deck with many nooks for gathering, relaxing and conversation.

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Located in San Francisco’s Portola
neighborhood, the retreat’s design reflects
the client’s desire for a landscape with a
modern, clean, aesthetic and varied, edible
plantscape. Steve shares, “The planting
for this project was designed to provide
a variety of food and herbs, many native
to California. Examples include California
Huckleberry, Western Hazelnut and
Yerba Buena”.
Anchoring the design an existing apple tree becomes the symbolic heart of the garden.
136 Home Review July 2016
Anchoring the design, an existing apple
tree becomes the symbolic heart of the
garden. “We had to keep the Apple tree in
the centre of the yard, despite it not being
in great shape and awkwardly located,”
says Steve. Flowing around this element, the
layout wields a dynamic tension between
the strong geometry of the patio areas and
the mixed thematic planting zones.
“As the pieces started to fall into place
around the tree it took on more meaning
for me as an appropriate centre-piece that
reflected the client’s adventurous spirit and
their extensive travels throughout India,”
explains Steve. A writing/guest cabana, a
spa, vegetable beds, dining and lounge
areas, an unusual Floss Silk tree and hidden
clotheslines in a dining patio screen, all co-
exist harmoniously. Steve loves working
with wood.

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“We built a small deck around a round wood spa tub. I particularly enjoy creating intimate, hidden spaces in a design.”
Home Review July 2016 137

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An out of sight clothes line in a dining patio screen is just one of Steve Ritchie’s many beauty with functional elements employed.
He shares, “For me as a living plant that has
been transformed into a building material it
represents something unique in the material
palette. In this project we built a small deck
around a round wood spa tub. I particularly
enjoy creating intimate, hidden spaces in
a design.”
Steve’s spaces focus on the integrated
master landscape planning of a property
and the specific landscape design within
it. The result is a landscape designed to
marvel at!
steve@seed-studio.net
www.seed-studio.net