La Riva

The Garden by Chio invites us to discover La Riva, a landscape project based on the creation of a contemporary 1,260 m² garden located in Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz, Spain. The planted rooftop is transformed into a landscape where heritage, architecture, and nature coexist in harmony.

The La Riva landscape project is part of the transformation of the La Riva – SherryHomes complex, located within the historic setting of the former sherry wineries. The intervention was conceived with the aim of creating a contemporary garden on the vegetated roof covering the residential complex’s underground parking garage, transforming a technical infrastructure into a habitable, functional landscape that is fully integrated with the architecture.

The project’s main physical constraint was working on a green roof, which required precise control of structural loads, substrate depths, drainage, and plant selection. From these limitations, the design proposes a constructed topography defined by gentle variations in the terrain, carefully calculated to provide volume, naturalness, and continuity to the ensemble. In this way, the technical requirements remain concealed beneath a serene and seemingly spontaneous landscape.

The garden is conceived as a continuous and fluid space. Although it is structurally composed of distinct areas—the large roof and the bands of natural ground—the design seeks for all of them to be perceived as a single landscape. The sinuous pathways connect the different common areas, accompany the user’s movement, and invite a leisurely stroll, where spaces for gathering, rest, and contemplation emerge.

The intervention is guided by three essential principles: elegance, sustainability, and low maintenance. Vegetation is the primary compositional element and draws inspiration from the Andalusian Mediterranean landscape. Olive trees and cork oaks structure the garden, providing identity, shade, and a sense of rootedness, while evoking the cultural memory of the territory. Around them, masses of shrubs, groundcovers, and soft-textured species create a naturalistic, ever-changing, and balanced atmosphere.

La Riva, a landscaped project that responds to three essential principles: elegance, sustainability, and low maintenance.

The planting palette is conceived through a neutral elegance, based on whites and different shades of green. Contrast is not achieved through bold colors, but rather through the form, texture, habit, and density of each species. This approach creates a sober and timeless landscape, capable of engaging in dialogue with both the contemporary architecture of the complex and the site’s industrial and winemaking heritage.

Materially, the garden softens the built edges, provides visual continuity, and transforms the outdoor spaces into a natural extension of the home.

La Riva proposes a new way of understanding the planted roof: not as a simple vegetated plane, but as a complete landscape, with identity, function, and emotion. A garden of calm and precision, where heritage, architecture, and nature coexist in balance and become an essential part of the everyday lives of its residents.

Bio of the Studio: 

The Garden by Chio is a landscape design studio specializing in contemporary Mediterranean gardens, where botany, spatial sensitivity, and sustainability engage in dialogue with architecture and the surrounding environment.