Mo Helmi: How to create natural landscapes with lasting appeal

Helmi’s not interested in a garden that peaks the day it’s finished but then begins to wane. Instead, he “choreographs” an environment where design is valuable, complex, and functional over a number of decades rather than seasons. 

From the runway to the root system 

Helmi’s path to landscape design is unique in that it’s built on a fifteen-year career in the fashion industry, including time at Giorgio Armani. But his background isn’t some quirky, fun detail. It has actively shaped his whole approach. Fashion, he explains, taught him about what people most desire, the value of excellent craftsmanship, and how beauty can affect human emotion.  

He founded Tricoastal Scapes to fill what he saw as a void and a need to marry ecological responsibility with true aesthetic desirability. His company aims to create places where “climate intelligence, biodiversity, and human wellbeing are embedded into environments that [feel] aspirational, elegant, and culturally relevant.” For Helmi, sustainable design should feel like a natural evolution of good taste. His team is all about a site-specific blend of art, science, and nature, an approach he believes is important for today’s urban environments.  

Designing for the future 

Helmi’s most important projects support his vision of landscape as a whole ongoing environmental system, not just a fleeting picture, and he recognizes that true beauty emerges over time. An example of this is the Soho Farmhouse Forest, a career-defining project of his where he and his team took a 2,400-square-meter former sports field and turned it into a dense, native forest through the Japanese Miyawake method. It involved planting over 3,000 native plants, with the goal being long-term resilience, support for burgeoning wildlife, and better soil health rather than instant curb appeal. A glade was even woven into the center of the community so it could be used for reflection.   

In practice, his work involves avoiding overly complicated designs that require constant upkeep. Helmi designs for ease of care, and he measures his success by how a space functions five, ten, or even twenty years in the future. 

An environment of resilience 

Helmi argues that in the coming years, real prestige will be linked to resilience and foresight, not excessive display. He also views climate-intelligent design not as an expense but as a long-term investment that can offer beautiful returns: higher property value, lower operating costs over time, and reduced environmental risk. His designs can even actively solve real-world problems such as reduced urban heat, managing stormwater runoff, and supporting native plants and animals, making his design a living infrastructure that can work with, and not against, the environment.  

As he puts it, “When I say ‘living art,’ I’m not talking about something symbolic or decorative. I’m talking about environments that are alive—biologically, emotionally, and over time.” This approach, where the design is experienced more than it’s noticed, is part of what makes Tricoastal Scapes popular. Ultimately, Mo Helmi’s goal is to make his approach the new standard and create a world that combines beauty, high performance, and care for the greenery that is nurturing his natural designs.