Topozen : topography + zen

If you don’t reside near a serene landscape, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear from you that your experience of serenity is episodic. Perhaps on the weekends you drive more than an hour to relish the beach—or maybe you take vacations from work to travel afar. I would also not be surprised to hear that you’re so caught up in the day-to-day that a moment of serenity does not even exist for you. Such a lifestyle is an unfortunate byproduct of industrialization and urbanization. I saw a need for an alternative and I developed a landscape design practice to serve that need—to serve those who seek to live with a serene landscape.

My path to creating Topozen sprung from my interest in urban environments—and an interest in creating system-scale solutions that address climate change. My interest in urban environments comes from having resided in places like Tokyo, Los Angeles, and New York City—and from seeing many different ways of living; my interest in urban environments comes from a place of curiosity and wonder. My design endeavors in urbanism produced several award-winning projects—which was not my objective—but the acclaim opened doors to other opportunities which I also enjoyed. I worked on private residential, commercial, institutional, and city-owned public projects that serve the 1%-ers and the 99%. I especially cherish the memories of instructing landscape design studios at the Boston Architectural College, Rhode Island School of Design, and City University of New York.

Topozen manages to touch upon the urban scale and the personal scale. Topozen is about serving the individuals who serve the communities they are part of—it’s about serving the people and the planet.

So much of living with a serene landscape is about having the opportunity to let your brain rest, to feel calm, to be in the present—each and every day. It’s about accruing positive emotions and experiences—one day at a time. It’s about establishing a positive affect—and settling into an upward spiral.

TAKUMA ONO

Master of Landscape Architecture, MLA1. Harvard Graduate School of Design, 2007

Bachelor of Science, Microbiology. University of California, Santa Barbara 1998