Gardens of Roberto Burle Marx

Roberto Burle Marx (1909-1994) was a ground-breaking artist and designer working in Brazil. He became interested in plants and gardens in his youth but his first public commission was in 1935 in Recife. more public and private commissions followed, during which time he developed his ideas about using native plants in bold block planting. In 1949 he acquired a house, now called Sitio Roberto Burle Marx, about 50km (30 mi) southwest of Rio de Janeiro which he used to propagate promising plants he found during expeditions to the forests and savannahs, and where he experimented with plant associations and designs for the rest of his life.

The following gardens are a few of those either designed by or heavily influenced by Roberto. In many cases he was employed to landscape the modernist architecture that was commissioned as the economic climate of Brazil developed, but his innovative designs in no way take second place to the architecture. The dates and names shown are those of the original garden. In many cases the designs have subsequently changed, sometimes with Roberto's advice or through growth and changes in ownership and maintenance.

• 1938 Ministry of Education and Health
• 1941-1945 Pampulha complex
• 1949 onwards Sitio RBM
• 1950 & 1966 Olivo Gomes Residence
• 1951 Moreira Salles Residence
• 1953, 1988 & 1994 Odette Monteiro Residence
• 1954 Edmundo Cavanellas Residence
• 1955 Alberto Kronsforth Residence
• 1961-1965 Flamengo Park and Museum of Modern Art
• 1965 Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• 1969 Petrobras building
• 1970 Copacabana beach
• 1970 Ministry of the Army
• 1971 Embassy of Belgium
• 1972 USIMAS building
• 1972-1973 TCU building
• 1974 Mangrove Fazenda
• 1974 & 1985 BNDES building
• 1979 Vargem Grande Fazenda
• 1983 Raul de Souza Martins Residence
• 1993 INHOTIM cultural centre

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