What Townshend Landscape Architects does

Townshend Landscape Architects is a London-based professional services firm providing landscape architecture, urban design, and masterplanning services, founded in 1988 by Robert Townshend and headquartered in Central London (Northumberland House, High Holborn). The firm serves property developers, local authorities, institutional clients, and private estate owners across the UK and selected international markets, delivering public realm design, masterplanning for urban regeneration, residential and commercial landscape design, roof terraces, park and square design, and heritage restoration. Its portfolio includes landmark urban regeneration schemes such as King's Cross Central (a 27-hectare masterplan engaged since 1999), Granary Square (one of the largest urban spaces of its kind in Europe), the Canada Water Masterplan (21 hectares), Royal Wharf, Blackwall Reach, and international work in Qatar, the UAE, Hungary, Slovakia, and France.

The firm's service offering centres on fee-based professional appointments delivered within multi-disciplinary design teams alongside named architects (Allies and Morrison, Stanton Williams, Foster and Partners, BIG, TP Bennett, Make, Horden Cherry Lee, Haworth Tompkins), engineers (Arup), and planting designers (Dan Pearson Studio). A stated feature of the working method is the use of hand-drawn sketches as integral to the design process, capturing concepts that shape the landscapes created. Sustainability credentials are demonstrated through BREEAM Outstanding and LEED Platinum outcomes on Granary Square and The Crystal (a Siemens visitor centre). The team is led by Principal Robert Townshend and Director Martha Alker, supported by Senior Associate and Associate-level staff and approximately 19 further named professionals across project and technical roles.

Revenue is generated through project-specific professional fees; no publicly disclosed standard pricing exists and pricing is determined per client appointment. The firm is privately held and wholly founder-owned, with no external institutional investment or parent company ownership identified. Marketing and new-business are driven by an online project portfolio, accumulated industry recognition (RIBA Stirling Prize People's Poll Winner 2024, NLA, BALI, ULI Global Awards for Excellence, Civic Trust, Pineapples, and Camden Design Awards), and long-standing referral relationships through repeated design-team collaborations.

Name

Townshend Landscape Architects

Legal name

Townshend Landscape Architects

Website

https://townshendla.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Townshend Landscape Architects is a London-based landscape architecture practice founded in 1988, providing masterplanning, public realm design, and urban regeneration services to UK and international property developers, local authorities, and institutional clients through fee-based professional appointments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Landscape Architecture Services

NAICS

Landscape Architectural Services (541320)

akta.pro primary industry

Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Urban Planning & Master Planning (BPAHAKAD)

Keywords

• Landscape architecture services
• Urban masterplanning
• Public realm design
• Urban regeneration
• Roof terrace design

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Professional Landscape Architecture Services: Townshend Landscape Architects generates revenue through fee-based professional services as landscape architects on development projects. Services include masterplanning, public realm design, detailed landscape design, and restoration strategies for clients including developers, local authorities, and private clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Townshend Landscape Architects is a professional landscape architecture practice that delivers fee-based design services including landscape masterplanning, public realm design, parks and squares, streetscape improvements, roof terrace gardens, residential and commercial landscape design, urban regeneration schemes, and historic garden restoration strategies. The firm is engaged on a project-by-project basis by property developers, local authorities, and institutional clients as part of multidisciplinary design teams in the UK and internationally.

Product overview

Townshend Landscape Architects is a landscape architecture studio that provides professional landscape architecture services rather than a software product. Their service offering encompasses public realm design, masterplanning, residential and commercial landscape design, roof terraces, and urban regeneration projects. The firm works on projects across the UK and internationally, including parks, squares, streetscapes, residential developments, and commercial landscapes. Notable project types include public squares (Granary Square, Pancras Square), urban regeneration masterplans (King's Cross Central, Canada Water Masterplan), roof terraces, parks (Claremont Park, Lewis Cubitt Park), and international projects (Corvin Promenade Budapest, Al Ain Oasis, Sky Park Bratislava). The firm was founded by Robert Townshend in 1988 and is based in Central London.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Landscape Masterplanning Comprehensive masterplanning services for large-scale urban regeneration and development schemes, establishing the landscape framework and public realm strategy for multi-hectare sites such as King's Cross Central (27 hectares), Canada Water (21 hectares), and Royal Wharf (17 hectares).
• Public Realm Design Design of public squares, parks, streetscapes, and pedestrian corridors for developers and local authorities, with notable projects including Granary Square, Pancras Square, Lewis Cubitt Park, Claremont Park, and the Canal Corridor at King's Cross.
• Roof Terrace Design Landscape design services for rooftop gardens and elevated outdoor spaces on commercial and residential developments, including 280 Bishopsgate, Ropemaker, and 20 and 22 Ropemaker Street.
• Residential Landscape Design Landscape and public realm design for residential developments and estate regeneration projects, including Blackwall Reach Phase II (1,575 new homes), Nightingale Estate (420 units), and Royal Wharf (over 3,300 new homes).
• Commercial Landscape Design Landscape design for commercial developments, mixed-use campuses, and corporate headquarters including Ropemaker office building, Regent's Place campus, Devonshire Square, and The Crystal visitor centre for Siemens.
• Heritage Garden Restoration Restoration strategy and design services for historically significant landscapes and gardens, including the Chateau de Villandry gardens in the Loire Valley, France, and other heritage properties requiring specialist restoration strategy.
• Healthcare Campus Landscape Design Masterplanning and landscape design for healthcare facilities, including the public realm masterplan for Hamad Bin Khalifa Medical City in Doha, Qatar for Hamad Medical Corporation, creating therapeutic outdoor environments for patients, staff, and visitors.

Quantifiable outcome

• King's Cross Central shortlisted for RIBA Stirling Prize; Granary Square selected by public as Best New Public Space in Camden Design Awards 2013; Canal Corridor won 2018 New London Awards Public Spaces Built Winner; ICD Brookfield Place won International Award.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Allies and MorrisoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTownshend Landscape Architects worked as part of the masterplan team alongside Allies and Morrison on the King's Cross Central development. The collaboration has been ongoing since 1999 following a design competition, with TLA contributing the landscape masterplan framework across the 27-hectare site.
• British LandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBritish Land is a repeat client and strategic partner, engaging TLA for multiple projects including Ropemaker, Regent's Place, and the Canada Water Masterplan. TLA works closely with British Land as landscape architects on their major mixed-use development schemes.
• Southwark CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSouthwark Council is a key public sector partner, collaborating on the Canada Water Masterplan (a 21-hectare new town centre) and the Canada Water Dock. The council granted planning permission for the masterplan and is a partner in the Canada Dock award-winning team.
• Global GenerationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTLA is closely involved with Global Generation, an educational charity working with children, young people, businesses, and local families in Camden, Islington, and Southwark. TLA has supported the Skip Garden at King's Cross and the Paper Garden at Canada Water, helping shape spaces that inspire creativity and community engagement.
• BallymorecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBallymore (in joint venture with Oxley International Holdings) commissioned TLA for the landscape masterplan of Royal Wharf, a 17-hectare residential riverside development in East London with over 3,300 new homes.
• Swan Housing GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwan Housing Group engaged TLA alongside Horden Cherry Lee Architects and Haworth Tompkins for the Blackwall Reach Regeneration Project, a major residential-led development delivering 1,575 new homes in Tower Hamlets.
• TP Bennett ArchitectsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTLA worked alongside TP Bennett Architects on the planning submission for Plot B at Dockside Canada Water for Art-Invest. The proposals are part of a wider 4.5-acre urban quarter at Dockside.
• Nottingham City CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNottingham City Council is the client for the Green Heart at Broad Marsh, a major public realm improvement project in Nottingham. The Green Heart has been shortlisted for a Pineapple Award.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Gross Max: Edinburgh-based landscape architecture studio of comparable scale, working on public realm, masterplanning and urban regeneration projects across the UK and internationally — closely overlaps TLA's service mix and client base.
• LDA Design: Long-established UK landscape architecture and urban design practice delivering masterplanning, public realm and regeneration projects — directly comparable in size, scope and customer profile to TLA.
• Grant Associates: Bath-based landscape architecture practice with international work in parks, public realm and masterplans — closely comparable in design-led approach and export of UK landscape expertise.
• Cracknell Landscape Design: International landscape architecture practice with a strong Middle East presence; partnered with TLA on ICD Brookfield Place in Dubai. Directly comparable service offering with complementary geographic strength.

Broad incumbents

• SWA Group: Large US-headquartered landscape architecture, urban design and planning practice with global reach — addresses the same brief types (masterplanning, public realm, waterfronts) at greater scale and resources.
• OLIN: US-based landscape architecture and urban design firm known for high-profile public realm and masterplan work — comparable in design sensibility and project types, but larger and US-rooted.
• HOK: Global architecture, engineering and planning firm with a landscape architecture practice — competes for masterplanning and public realm commissions alongside TLA as part of broader multi-disciplinary bids.
• Foster + Partners: Global architecture practice frequently collaborating with (and around) TLA on masterplan teams. Relevant because it competes for the same design-lead mandates and brings integrated in-house landscape capacity.
• Sasaki Associates: International design practice spanning landscape architecture, urban planning and architecture — overlaps with TLA on campus masterplans, waterfronts and public realm at larger scale and broader geographic reach.

Others

• Allies and Morrison: London architecture practice collaborating with TLA on King's Cross since 1999. A frequent design team partner on the same flagship projects rather than a competitor; relevant as a tightly intertwined collaborator.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/townshendLA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/townshend-landscape-architects-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Townshend Landscape Architects