"Tricoastal Vision: Mo Helmi on Shaping the Future of Green Spaces"

Mo Helmi wants to refine the language of landscape design by blending art, fashion and science into ecologically intelligent spaces. His aspirational and functional spaces are designed for sustainability that can be elegant, with a mindset that luxury in the modern day must be resilient. The landscape artist is the founder of Tricoastal Scapes, a London and Los Angeles-based design studio.

After a 15-year career in fashion design and editorial with roles at Giorgio Armani and Condé Nast Traveller, Helmi transitioned into work as a landscape artist. The Brit recently relocated from London to Los Angeles. His experience in fashion taught the lessons of storytelling, texture and emotional design, all aspects of his life that inform his approach to outdoor space. The designs he embraces are emotionally resonant, sensory-driven and rooted in strong conceptual narratives, and generally focused on private and public gardens on both sides of the Atlantic.

Artists who describe their work as “living art,” as Helmi does, view the world not as an insular being but as someone who takes in aspects of the surrounding environment and embodies it within their art. They create biologically and emotionally dynamic ecosystems, not static installations. He achieves a balance of conceptual elegance with technical precision, giving each idea equal weight in his designs, so soil health, water systems and biodiversity are equivalent in importance to aesthetic harmony.

Helmi has experienced a creative re-awakening, showcased by specific projects that are awe-inspiring to him in their unique characteristics and general public appeal. The three distinctive projects underscore his interest in creating ecosystems that remain dynamic for the life of the project beyond its conception and placement.

Projects designed by Helmi are purposeful in their effort to invoke a holistic change for the individual viewer and on the created landscape. The real-world outcomes delivered in his work surround the goals of improved mental health, climate resilience, biodiversity and increased asset value. His designs reject the practice of greenwashing, the deceptive suggestion that a company is environmentally friendly or sound when it isn’t. Instead, he embeds measurable sustainability into every design decision.

Helmi’s client list is focused on developers, hotels, healthcare institutions, private clients and brands. The moment clients bring him in is usually when they understand the landscaping intersection of aesthetic resonance crossed with strategic needs, and that an investment in a dedicated design has a significant positive effect on experience, value and longevity.

As his experience in designing the landscape increases, Helmi seeks to continue the evolution in his designs, to embed biophilic, environmentally responsible design into mainstream luxury development. His overarching theme is that this luxurious environmental bent does not seem an afterthought, but instead a foundational infrastructure. His aspirations to change perceptions balance on the thought that green spaces should be as desirable as luxury goods. Sustainability is not a compromise, but an upgrade.

“My dream is to change the widespread mindset around beautiful green spaces vs environmental impact, to where it would be seen as a win/win for human wellness, economically and environmentally,” Helmi said.