This High Summer season, we draw inspiration from renowned architect, multi-hiphanate artist and essential influence on Carioca landscapes, Roberto Burle Marx. Though most well-known for his landscape architecture, Burle Marx (1909–1994) expanded far beyond this practice; he was a pioneering modernist, conservationist, and a visionary who transformed the identity of Rio de Janeiro’s urban tapestry.

Born in São Paulo, Brazil, and later moving to Rio in 1913, Burle Marx had an upbringing rooted deeply in creativity; he began planting seeds under his family’s guidance from early childhood, later elevating this interest to previously unexplored complexities. Growing up to study painting in Germany, and subsequently visual arts at the National Fine Arts School in Rio de Janeiro, Burle Marx came up under the tutelage of several Brazilian modernist heavyweights: Candido Portinari, Lucio Costa, Gregori Warchavchik and Oscar Niemeyer to name a few. 

At a time when designs favored European influence above all, Burle Marx boldly embraced native Brazilian botany and aesthetics. His convictions, reinforced by witnessing Brazilian species revered abroad, led to a shift in cultural perspective: local flora was worthy of celebration. Over his career, he discovered several new specimens (with dozens of species bearing his own name) and distilled ecological conservationism into design practice. 

Approaching landscape design with the sensibilities of a painter, Burle Marx composed gardens as living canvases - characterized by bold, organic, and dynamic qualities. Applying biomorphic patterns, striking color contrasts, and architectural plant arrangements, these now-iconic landmarks blur the line between art and natural environment. Responsible for infusing Rio’s soul with Carioca beacons such as the Aterro do Flamengo, the Museo de Arte Moderna, and the indisputable representative of the Cidade Maravilhosa: the Calçadão de Copacabana - inspiration to our most recognizable house print. 

In 1949, Burle Marx acquired a former estate in Barra de Guaratiba. There, he cultivated over 3,500 plant species, built a nursery, a home, a chapel, and his iconic tile-clad studio. Known for his extensive use of azulejo tiles across both landscapes and interiors, it was in this loggia atelier that Burle Marx brought to life his visions of some of his most iconic works. The space draws from Luso-Brazilian traditional design; each azulejo was individually hand-painted and laid by the modernist himself, and details such as dried flowers and fruit serve as a nod to the intrinsic tie with the surrounding vegetation. This living canvas serves as the backdrop for our High Summer 2025 campaign, weaving together tiled walls and thriving local flora, inspiring an ever-transitional approach to life. 

Through sweeping public parklands, poetic promenades, and a private “laboratory” of ecological expression, he wove together art, nature, and cultural identity in a dialogue still unfolding today. 

His legacy lives on in every curve of the promenade, every native plant massed in city gardens, and the vision of urban spaces that have become the very heart of Rio de Janeiro.

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