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DELVA

Based in Amsterdam and Antwerp, DELVA designs landscape-dominant environments characterized by outward-expanding geometries, canopy-level boardwalks, and floating concrete structures that blur the threshold between built mass and natural ecology. The portfolio offers clear precedents when detailing elevated walkways through forested reserves, specifying sloped mass-timber roofs with integrated vegetation, or designing public seating directly into water-management channels.

Elevated timber boardwalk and seating area overlooking forested multi-story residential buildings by DELVA.

Elevated timber boardwalk and seating area overlooking forested

A landscape and architecture integration precedent by DELVA showing multi-story residential buildings embedded within a steep forested hillside, viewed from an elevated timber boardwalk.

What we like about this project
The buildings are nearly swallowed by the dense forest canopy, making the architecture secondary to the landscape.

Materials

  • timber
  • glass
  • metal
  • native-planting

Visual identifiers

  • timber-boardwalk
  • forested-hillside
  • recessed-balconies
  • canopy-integration

Style tags

  • biophilic
  • contemporary
  • site-responsive

Visual tags

  • landscape-integration
  • woodland
  • residential
  • boardwalk
  • natural-topography
  • outdoor-living
Geometry
An elevated timber boardwalk extends horizontally across a steep wooded slope, framing views toward multi-story rectilinear buildings integrated into the tree canopy.
Facade system
Glass and dark metal framing with recessed continuous balconies across multiple stories.
Structural guess
Post-and-beam elevated timber decking on a reinforced substrate; concrete and steel structural frames for the residential volumes.
Spatial scale
Human scale at the foreground viewing platform, contrasting with the multi-story residential blocks nestled in the valley below.
Lighting
Dappled overhead daylight filtering through dense tree canopy, creating soft highlights on the timber boardwalk.
Atmosphere
Serene, immersive, and deeply connected to the surrounding woodland environment.
Environmental context
Steep hillside forest with native understory planting, mature deciduous trees, and natural boulder outcrops.
Spatial experience
The vantage point provides an expansive framed view from a wooded overlook down to lower terrace levels and residential volumes.
Composition rhythm
Foreground horizontal deck boards intersect with vertical tree trunks and rectilinear building facades.
Style reading
Biophilic contemporary landscape architecture
Program
Residential development in a natural forest setting
Perspective
Aerial/Site
Discipline
landscape
Materials
timber, glass, metal, native-planting
Visual identifiers
timber-boardwalk, forested-hillside, recessed-balconies, canopy-integration
Style tags
biophilic, contemporary, site-responsive
Visual tags
landscape-integration, woodland, residential, boardwalk, natural-topography, outdoor-living
Geometry
An elevated timber boardwalk extends horizontally across a steep wooded slope, framing views toward multi-story rectilinear buildings integrated into the tree canopy.
Facade system
Glass and dark metal framing with recessed continuous balconies across multiple stories.
Structural guess
Post-and-beam elevated timber decking on a reinforced substrate; concrete and steel structural frames for the residential volumes.
Spatial scale
Human scale at the foreground viewing platform, contrasting with the multi-story residential blocks nestled in the valley below.
Lighting
Dappled overhead daylight filtering through dense tree canopy, creating soft highlights on the timber boardwalk.
Atmosphere
Serene, immersive, and deeply connected to the surrounding woodland environment.
Environmental context
Steep hillside forest with native understory planting, mature deciduous trees, and natural boulder outcrops.
Spatial experience
The vantage point provides an expansive framed view from a wooded overlook down to lower terrace levels and residential volumes.
Composition rhythm
Foreground horizontal deck boards intersect with vertical tree trunks and rectilinear building facades.
Style reading
Biophilic contemporary landscape architecture
Program
Residential development in a natural forest setting
Perspective
Aerial/Site
Discipline
landscape

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Directories

  • Firms
  • Patterns

AI Native Apps

  • AI Mode Search
  • SoftMarket
  • 2nd Brain

About HappyCluster

  • About
  • How it works
  • Contact

Connect

  • Waitlist
  • X
  • GitHub

Legal

  • Privacy
  • Terms

HappyCluster

© 2026

Elevated timber boardwalk and seating area overlooking forested multi-story residential buildings by DELVA.

Elevated timber boardwalk and seating area overlooking forested

A landscape and architecture integration precedent by DELVA showing multi-story residential buildings embedded within a steep forested hillside, viewed from an elevated timber boardwalk.

What we like about this project
The buildings are nearly swallowed by the dense forest canopy, making the architecture secondary to the landscape.

Materials

  • timber
  • glass
  • metal
  • native-planting

Visual identifiers

  • timber-boardwalk
  • forested-hillside
  • recessed-balconies
  • canopy-integration

Style tags

  • biophilic
  • contemporary
  • site-responsive

Visual tags

  • landscape-integration
  • woodland
  • residential
  • boardwalk
  • natural-topography
  • outdoor-living
Geometry
An elevated timber boardwalk extends horizontally across a steep wooded slope, framing views toward multi-story rectilinear buildings integrated into the tree canopy.
Facade system
Glass and dark metal framing with recessed continuous balconies across multiple stories.
Structural guess
Post-and-beam elevated timber decking on a reinforced substrate; concrete and steel structural frames for the residential volumes.
Spatial scale
Human scale at the foreground viewing platform, contrasting with the multi-story residential blocks nestled in the valley below.
Lighting
Dappled overhead daylight filtering through dense tree canopy, creating soft highlights on the timber boardwalk.
Atmosphere
Serene, immersive, and deeply connected to the surrounding woodland environment.
Environmental context
Steep hillside forest with native understory planting, mature deciduous trees, and natural boulder outcrops.
Spatial experience
The vantage point provides an expansive framed view from a wooded overlook down to lower terrace levels and residential volumes.
Composition rhythm
Foreground horizontal deck boards intersect with vertical tree trunks and rectilinear building facades.
Style reading
Biophilic contemporary landscape architecture
Program
Residential development in a natural forest setting
Perspective
Aerial/Site
Discipline
landscape
Materials
timber, glass, metal, native-planting
Visual identifiers
timber-boardwalk, forested-hillside, recessed-balconies, canopy-integration
Style tags
biophilic, contemporary, site-responsive
Visual tags
landscape-integration, woodland, residential, boardwalk, natural-topography, outdoor-living
Geometry
An elevated timber boardwalk extends horizontally across a steep wooded slope, framing views toward multi-story rectilinear buildings integrated into the tree canopy.
Facade system
Glass and dark metal framing with recessed continuous balconies across multiple stories.
Structural guess
Post-and-beam elevated timber decking on a reinforced substrate; concrete and steel structural frames for the residential volumes.
Spatial scale
Human scale at the foreground viewing platform, contrasting with the multi-story residential blocks nestled in the valley below.
Lighting
Dappled overhead daylight filtering through dense tree canopy, creating soft highlights on the timber boardwalk.
Atmosphere
Serene, immersive, and deeply connected to the surrounding woodland environment.
Environmental context
Steep hillside forest with native understory planting, mature deciduous trees, and natural boulder outcrops.
Spatial experience
The vantage point provides an expansive framed view from a wooded overlook down to lower terrace levels and residential volumes.
Composition rhythm
Foreground horizontal deck boards intersect with vertical tree trunks and rectilinear building facades.
Style reading
Biophilic contemporary landscape architecture
Program
Residential development in a natural forest setting
Perspective
Aerial/Site
Discipline
landscape

Related in this portfolio