About
Hinterlands designs biodiverse urban landscapes for a changing climate.
Founded in Chicago in 2015 by Conor O’Shea (PLA, ASLA), Hinterlands is at the vanguard of contemporary landscape architecture.
Hinterlands has experience designing at a range of project sizes, from the urban storefront pollinator planter to the suburban residential garden to the large public park. Across all these scales, we place special emphasis on supporting insects and pollinators by using native plant mixes, integrating healthy soils, and recommending insect-friendly landscape maintenance practices. Every project is informed by deep ecological background research and we work closely with trusted landscape contractors to bring our designs to life.
However, we’re more than an ecological design company: we’re in the business of envisioning radical new landscape futures. As the climate changes and culture evolves, so too must our landscapes, to both reflect and inform society’s values. Through our unique design process and collaborations with like-minded clients, Hinterlands is weaving a new cultural and ecological fabric for 21st century landscapes.
The Biodiversity Crisis
Globally, insect populations are crashing and climate change is altering bird migration and insect emergence times as well as the bloom times of the plants they feed on and, in turn, pollinate.
How we choreograph these seasonal rhythms–or phenology–are a core consideration in the work at Hinterlands.
We are committed to transforming urban landscapes so that it is easier for insects and other small animals to eat, move around, and reproduce. We also make sure that non-migratory species can survive the winter by recommending landscape maintenance practices that keep leaf litter and native plants in place throughout the winter, providing a protective home for species.
Through all of our work, we are providing more stepping stones and corridors for insects and animals to move across built landscapes, particularly urban and suburban landscapes of the midwest that have been engineered for anthropocentric uses. We’re reweaving natural systems back into the built environment and producing a new urban fabric that is wilder, more visually striking, and more biodiverse.
Design Process
We are first and foremost designers. That is, we invent and oversee the construction of landscapes of remarkable aesthetic quality, that support native insects and other forms of wildlife, that withstand the unpredictable temperature and rainfall fluctuations of climate change, that dramatically shift in color, texture, and form throughout the seasons, and grow richer over the years.
In every project, Hinterlands aspires to a thorough understanding of place through repeated on-site observation, aerial drone photography, a close reading of current and archival local journalism, and in-depth ecological background research. This research is synthesized and represented in compelling, information-rich, and easy to read graphics such as large-scale GIS maps, seasonal bloom charts, and ecological food web diagrams. Once our landscapes are built, we like to visit them as often as we can, to document their evolution, to edit them when needed, and learn from them.
Further, to support our commitment to building exceptional cutting-edge works of landscape architecture, we continuously revise and update our design process by integrating emerging software and hardware such as 3D modeling software, parametric scripting, virtual reality, mixed reality, drone photography, real-time archviz software, and 3D printing.
Collaboration and Communication
Hinterlands collaborates closely with clients to deliver visually bold, biodiverse, low maintenance landscapes. We are responsive, respectful, and communicate with clients through in-person meetings, graphically-rich presentations, physical models, 3D model fly throughs, as well as pre-recorded and professionally-edited client presentations for asynchronous viewing.
In addition to working for private and public clients, Hinterlands also participates in self initiated, pro bono, and scholarly activities. While these intellectual, scholarly, and civic engagement activities are important in their own right, they also prepare us to make more informed decisions in our for-profit design work.
Recognition and Exhibits
Since Conor O’Shea started the company in 2015, Hinterlands has been written about in high profile publications including Architectural Record, Atlantic CityLab, Landscape Architecture Magazine, MAS Context Journal, WIRED, The Chicago Tribune, and Topos: The International Review of Landscape Architecture and Urban Design; our work has been exhibited at the Chicago Architecture Biennial, the Chicago Architecture Center, and the Venice Biennale.
People
Conor O'Shea | Founder
Conor O’Shea (PLA, ASLA) is a leading practitioner of landscape architecture in the Midwest.
At his Chicago-based practice Hinterlands, he designs and oversees the construction of pollinator friendly landscapes by integrating ecological research, emerging design technologies, and high-impact aesthetic approaches. While his work takes many forms, including private gardens, public open space design, publications, and design competitions, all of it embodies his overarching ambition to infuse our built environment with natural systems through daring, bold, and inspiring landscape architecture.
Prior to starting Hinterlands, Conor was a designer and project manager at Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects, where he worked closely with his mentor, the acclaimed landscape architect Peter Schaudt, on a range of private and civic projects including Chicago’s 2016 Olympic Bid and the revitalization of Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.
Conor is a licensed landscape architect in the State of Illinois and member of the American Society of Landscape Architects. He holds a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and both a Master in Landscape Architecture and Master in Design Studies (Urbanism, Landscape, and Ecology) from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
Professional Registration
Registered Landscape Architect, State of Illinois, License No. 157.001724
Education
Bachelor of Landscape Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Master in Landscape Architecture, Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Master in Design Studies (Urbanism, Landscape, and Ecology), Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Previous Work Experience
Designer and Project Manager, Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects, Chicago, IL
Intern, Chicago Park District, Chicago, IL
E-mail: ceoshea@hinterlands-ul.net
Themistocles Frangias | Intern
At Hinterlands Themistocles assists with all phases of the design process through 3D modeling, 3D printing, site measurements, computational design, ecological research, and drafting. Themistocles has completed coursework in landscape architecture at the University of Oregon and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is a Chicago Public Schools graduate.
Location
916 N. Damen Avenue, 1F
Chicago, IL 60622