There is a moment early in every new project that is the most valuable moment in the entire design process. It is the moment when landscape and architecture are in conversation with each other, and when every possibility is still on the table. "The design is always better when we're there in the beginning," says Principal Mike Szabo, PLA, ASLA. It is a philosophy that has shaped the firm since its founding in 2014, and it is the reason SZABO approaches every project as a full

From Backyard Terraces to Civic Plazas: How SZABO Landscape Architecture Designs Across Scales Since SZABO’s founding in Bend in 2014, Mike Szabo and partner Brian Nierman have moved fluidly between intimate residential gardens and civic plazas that anchor communities. The SZABO team has found that the discipline required to design a private outdoor room sharpens the thinking that goes into a public park. The systems-level rigor of a civic project informs the way the team

The City of Bend WaterWise Design Guidelines project emerged from that shift. Developed for the City of Bend Water Conservation Department, SZABO’s work examined major landscape water users such as parks, schools, and rights-of-way to identify practical opportunities for savings. The result was a more strategic approach to irrigation, turf reduction, and planting design, one that responded to the realities of maintenance while promoting native and low-water landscapes.