(about)

There is a distinct magnetism of this region; a connection between the people, the sea, and the land that touches it. At Brackish, we use landscape architecture as a way of deepening this attachment of people to place; of creating designs that respond to a remarkably east coast way of life.

Founded by partners Matthew Brown and Sandra Cooke in 2019, Brackish Design Studio is a landscape architecture company born of Atlantic Canada; a place where the dramatic and varied natural landscape is as fluctuating as it is beautiful. We are inspired by the forces of time and tide; of growth and decline, of climate and weather, and how these ebbs and flows shape the built and natural environments that we inhabit. As designers, our task is to create places that are resilient, sustainable, and as unique as Atlantic Canada itself. Through each project, we seek to express the region’s history, culture, and environment, and what that means for today’s society. To us, this means design that is respectful of the area’s natural and cultural heritage through a return to local traditions and materials, re-imagined for contemporary life. We don’t look to re-create the past, but learn from it to reveal a unique narrative of twenty-first-century Atlantic Canada. The design we create today is the legacy we leave behind for tomorrow.