Who Are Camlins
We are landscape architects, shaping places that enrich lives. Our work spans masterplans, later living, commercial, education, housing, community regeneration, private gardens, public realm, culture, and health. From large-scale projects to intimate spaces, we bring the same level of care and creativity.
We are a team of individuals united by a shared purpose – to make a difference. As open-minded collaborators, we harness our diverse strengths to deliver landscapes that are meaningful, functional, and enduring. Working with local authorities, contractors, developers, private clients, and some of the world’s leading architects, we dig deep to understand their ambitions and translate them into landscapes that attract support, secure investment, and get built.
We don’t impose a signature style. Every project is shaped by the client, the place, and its people. That’s why clients return to us – they trust our ability to listen, interpret, and bring their vision to life. Established in 1980, Camlins is now 100% employee-owned, marking a new chapter in our journey as one of the UK’s leading landscape design practices.
Thinking Landscape
Land is ever-present, but landscape is land that has been considered, shaped, and imbued with meaning. As landscape architects, we are imaginative problem-solvers, constantly thinking about how places function and how they feel.
Every site holds potential, and our role is to unlock it – whether by creating public spaces that improve community wellbeing or enhancing adding value to commercial environments. For public sector clients, our approach ensures strategic investment with maximum social and environmental benefits while for our commercial clients, we create landscapes that elevate products, enhance experiences, and drive engagement.
Finding Common Ground
“The measure of any great civilisation is its cities, and a measure of a city’s greatness is found in the quality of its public spaces, parks, and squares.” – John Ruskin.
Great landscapes work for everyone. Our designs create inclusive places where people want to be – where they move freely, connect easily, and feel welcome. Ensuring that every stakeholder has a voice is always a priority as clients, investors, residents, businesses, and visitors all play a role in shaping a shared vision.
Collaboration is at the heart of our process. We work closely with local authorities – particularly planning and highways – to turn aspirations into reality, and when landscape and architecture are fully aligned, the best solutions emerge. We think about movement, light, space, and views – inside and out – crafting environments that feel instinctively right and deeply rooted in their surroundings.
Thinking Green
In the face of climate change, our role is both proactive and adaptive. We design landscapes that reduce carbon by design – building with less, using sustainable materials, and minimising operational carbon.
All landscape is infrastructure. It doesn’t just look good; it performs. It regulates temperature, manages water, supports biodiversity, and enhances wellbeing. Water is life, and landscapes should function like sponges – soaking it up, using it efficiently, and sustaining biodiverse ecosystems.
Nature-based solutions are common sense. Every new landscape is a habitat in the making, and Biodiversity Net Gain underpins our work. Science now confirms what we’ve always known – nature is fundamental to human health and happiness. The closer we are to green spaces, the better we feel.
That’s why we start with green – literally. We design landscapes with vegetation at the forefront and then work backwards. Our work is a visual symbol of collective intent, demonstrating that sustainability isn’t an afterthought – it’s the foundation of good design.
Seeing the Big Picture
Every landscape is part of something bigger. It’s shaped by layers of history, context, and culture – like a Russian doll in reverse. Our job is to zoom out, understand these layers, and respond with clarity and purpose.
Masterplanning requires navigating complexity and distilling it into something clear and legible. We ensure a strong hierarchy and structure, allowing projects to evolve while maintaining coherence.
Public benefit isn’t just a planning requirement – it’s the core of what we do. We look beyond compliance to create places that people truly connect with. As landscape architects, we hold a privileged position – we shape environments that influence health, wellbeing, and prosperity. Public spaces, green networks, and biodiverse landscapes aren’t just amenities; they are the essential infrastructure that binds communities together and improves quality of life.
Crafting the Landscape
Landscape character is both an art and a science. It should feel effortless, yet every decision is intentional – responding to architectural geometry, solving challenges, and enhancing experience.
Materials matter, not just aesthetically but in terms of performance, sustainability, and longevity. Workmanship, too, is key. We work with the best and ensure the highest standards from concept to completion.
Revealing the Culture
Every place has a story, and our role is to reveal it through landscape. High-quality public realm attracts cultural institutions, while culture, in turn, shapes the way spaces are used.
Public art is not an add-on – it’s a fundamental process. Finding the right artist, engaging with local culture, and allowing the place itself to guide the outcome creates something truly authentic. We listen, contribute, and collaborate to ensure that landscapes don’t just serve a function but resonate on a deeper level.
Making it Real
A concept on paper is meaningless unless it can be built. Our focus is always on real-world impact – making viable proposals that lead to tangible change. We don’t design in isolation; we work within project constraints to ensure our designs can be delivered.
Value engineering is a reality, and how we respond to it is what really matters. Safe, functional, and beautiful places emerge from understanding the balance between competing needs – whether it’s pedestrians, cyclists, or vehicles.
Public realm design is often about solving puzzles incrementally. We consider transitions, access, utilities, legalities, and aesthetics, always keeping sight of the ‘Big Plan’ – ensuring that every stage builds towards a coherent, enduring outcome.
Evolving All the Time
Our industry is changing, and so are we. Today, a successful project is as much about engagement and communication as it is about great design – the latter flows from the former.
The demands on landscape architects are evolving. We must be fluent in today’s priorities – quantifying carbon, measuring biodiversity, and ensuring urban greening – while anticipating the challenges of tomorrow. As AI reshapes the industry, we remain at the forefront, adapting, learning, and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.
At Camlins, we’re not just designing landscapes, we’re shaping the future.
Careers
We are currently seeking landscape architects of all levels to join our team. To make an application please email your CV and portfolio to Mark Dunn at vacancies@camlins.com.
To find out more about working at Camlins and meet the team click me!
Camlins’ Clients
We pride ourselves in our work and the service that we provide to clients. Our practice has been described as boutique. Our clients recognise that we understand them and know what they want. It also means that they come back to us, knowing we will help them think through their interests and give the best advice for them. We have no house signature style. Our approach for each commission is led by our clients and, of course, the place. We name here some of the people that we have had the pleasure of working for and who given us the opportunity to contribute and evolve.
Collaborators
We are instinctively collaborative. This is a team game. Our work weaves multiple strands of human context, the surrounding architecture and many engineering and environmental concerns into a coherent whole. This calls for a clear overarching vision. It also requires us to listen, learn, explain, persuade and coordinate. We name here some of the people that we have had the pleasure of working with, many of the best practitioners in their field.