Understorey is a
landscape
architecture studio
in Wollongong
making resilient
beautiful
places
Understorey Landscape Architects | Wollongong + NSW
Landscape Design, Architecture, Landscaping and Maintenance
Understorey is a Wollongong-based landscape architecture and garden design studio on Dharawal Country, Illawarra, creating thoughtful, site-responsive landscapes and gardens across NSW. We design and build residential and public landscapes, crafting spaces that celebrate nature, support biodiversity, and feel truly personal. From relaxed coastal gardens to layered urban courtyards, our work brings together beauty, functionality, and ecological care — shaped by your story and place.
Our work is founded on thorough research, attention to place, and meaningful consultation with Traditional Custodians.
Our Approach to Residential and Public Landscape Design
Comprehensive landscape services for homes, communities, and institutions — from concept design to construction and care.
We create pollinator-friendly gardens, restore soil health, source sustainable materials, and celebrate local knowledge, ensuring every landscape we design is a living, thriving place.
-Pollinator- and habitat-friendly designs that support thriving multispecies ecosystems
-Soil health and regeneration, fostering sustainable growth
-Reclaimed and locally sourced materials, reducing environmental impact
-Celebrating local knowledge, talent, and heritage in every project
-Productive, biodiverse, and sensory-rich gardens with predominantly native plants that engage and nourish
Comprehensive Landscape Service
Understorey Landscape Architects offer a comprehensive landscape design service, guiding projects from initial concept through to construction and ongoing maintenance. Understorey Landscape Architects are dedicated to crafting landscapes that nourish people, places, and ecosystems.
Rooted on Dharawal Country, we bring expertise in resilient design, meaningful consultation, and hands-on stewardship to projects of every scale.
What we're about
We're a small, creative and ambitious landscape architecture studio focused on our local surrounds of Dharawal country, Illawarra.
As landscape architects we specialise in horticulture, ecology, education and ecological design.
We are committed to our local communities - to being hands on, connected and agile, in genuinely participatory and creative ways.
At the small scale, we are led by genius loci - the unique character, heritage and inhabitation of a place.
At the large scale we are engaged in dialogue with innovative designers across the world through professional and academic relationships.
Are core values are as follows:
- Deep ecological care - pushing beyond "sustainability" to regeneration, healing, and thriving ecosystems.
- Designing with Country - embedding First Nations knowledge, relational care, and a decolonial approach to land and community.
- Hyper-locality - place-specific, community-centered design that respects vernacular landscapes and ecological nuances.
- Social and cultural justice - commitment to accessibility, equity, multi-species care, and resisting exclusionary practices (e.g., defensive architecture).
- Circular economy -emphasis on reuse, low-carbon materials, bioregional economies, and nature-positive solutions.
- Challenging old paradigms - pushing beyond "business as usual" in council frameworks and advocating for bold, sensitive leadership for the future.
We want to work with you to create unique places of boundless beauty and vitality.
Plans and other drawings of our sustainable landscapes
Explore our recent gardens and public landscapes across Wollongong, Illawarra, and NSW — each designed for beauty, resilience, and connection.
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Our clients include
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service
Allam Property Group
The Orion Group
NSW Department of Education
Marksman Homes
TRN Group
We've worked with councils, garden owners,
developers, architects and early education providers
We'd love to hear from you too
We acknowledge and thank the Traditional Owners of Dharawal Country, the unceded lands
of the Illawarra where we live.
We credit First Nations people for their ongoing work in protecting, holding and sharing knowledge that underpins best practice in landscape design and management all over the world.
This land always was, and always will be,
Aboriginal Land.