Q&A with Peter White, Principal, and Rina Okawa Senior Interior Designer, ZEN Associates This article in Modern Luxury Interiors focuses on the unique relationship between Landscape Architecture and Interior Design. As a Design + Build firm, our multidisciplinary team combines landscape architecture, interior design, construction, and maintenance under one roof, ensuring a seamless experience from… Read more »
Cohesion & Harmony This urban oasis seamlessly integrates outdoor and interior spaces, creating a serene retreat in the heart of the city. With every detail crafted for relaxation and entertainment, and all the outdoor amenities, spa, sauna, fire feature, pergola to expand your living space. Inside, a peaceful ambiance unfolds as our interior design team… Read more »
Best of Luxury Design Best Indoor / Outdoor Design
Modern Adaption We had the pleasure of working with Zero Energy for this project in Belmont which put a contemporary spin on a classic 1960’s split-level home. We share an appreciation for clean, contemporary design which enhances our client’s well-being and creates a calming aesthetic. We design to break down the barriers between the interior… Read more »
Best of Northshore Home Magazine 2023 Landscape Architect, Pools
Calm Reverie Home and Design Magazine recently featured a very special project of ours on the Chesapeake Bay. This project began over 20 years ago when our Founder, Shin Abe designed a traditional Japanese Garden based on an abstraction of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. Over the past 5 years, our interior design team has worked… Read more »
Back to Nature In this article, Peter White, principal landscape architect, and Rina Okawa, director of interior design share their insight on design principles used to strengthen the flow between interior and exterior spaces. These techniques create a seamless connection to our natural environment which enhances our well-being on a daily basis. DIG IN >
We wanted to share that our founder, Shinichiro Abe, was awarded the Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendation. Shin received this recognition for his longstanding contributions to spreading and cultivating Japanese Gardens in the United States as well as his efforts to promote the planting of the U.S.-Japan friendship Sakura ( cherry) trees. He received the award… Read more »
One of the pleasant things about winter are the fond memories of walking through a snowy landscape in the Arnold Arboretum or the Tower Hill Botanical Garden and looking at the winterberry hollies bursting with colorful fruits and the paperbark maples with their cinnamon peeling bark.
Best of Boston Home 2023 Landscape Design + Build – North
Best of Boston Home 2022 Landscape Design + Build – North
Best of Northshore 2022 Landscape Architect, Pools, Water Feature
Mastering the Timeless Art of Japanese Design, Inside and Out Recently featured in New England Home Magazine, this article introduces many of the Japanese Design Principals which guide our work as we approach interior and landscape design projects. We are grateful that there is a growing appreciation for living our lives in balance with nature… Read more »
Best of Northshore 2021 Landscape Architect, Pools
Best of Northshore 2021 Landscape Architect, Pools
Best of Boston Home Landscape Design + Build – North
The Lush Life – A Private Garden in the Sky The increased interest in rooftop gardens is certainly understandable given the continued real estate boom in Boston! For this project, our clients were leaving the suburbs for the city but weren’t willing to say good-bye to their connection to the natural world. This article shares… Read more »
Tiers of Joy High up on a bluff overlooking Wellfleet Harbor and the Cape Cod National Seashore we designed the clients program to include – swimming pool, spa, outdoor kitchen and bar area, multiple fire features, outdoor shower, and a relaxing lounge area protected from the elements. We were responsible for strategically navigating through a… Read more »
These details can make all the difference when designing your rooftop terrace. We love the challenge of designing for a Rooftop Terrace! Similar to a landscape, each rooftop is unique given their position (exposure) to the elements sun, shade, wind, water and neighboring buildings. Below we highlight the top 6 picks to think about when creating… Read more »
Sea & Sky -The Beauty Of Cape Ann Granite The incredible site of this North Shore home featured dramatic ledge, dynamic views, and an intriguing grade change between the driveway and the house. The solution? A bridge to the front entrance, terraces and walkways hewn from native Cape Ann granite, and plantings that frame the… Read more »
High Design Meets High Tech in a Chic Boston Condo ZEN Associates is proud to be featured in rise – New England Home’s premier publication focused on stylish city living. Our senior interior designer, Rina Okawa balanced the clean geometric lines of the open floor plan with the softness and warmth of natural materials to create a… Read more »
Monadanock Vistas Gardens Illustrated, the international horticulture publication, certainly picked one of our favorite projects when they chose to feature Sharon Malt’s Monadnock country estate. It was a pleasure to visit with Sharon and Tova Martin for the interview and share the story of our vision as we designed and planned for the evolving landscape… Read more »
Featuring the work of Shin Abe, ZEN Associates Visionary Landscapes written by Kendall Brown, examines the work of five leading landscape architects in North America who are exploring the extraordinary power of Japanese garden design to promote personal and social well-being. The Founder and Principal of ZEN Associates, Shin Abe was highlighted as one of… Read more »
Garden Care and Maintenance The Gardisans offers special care for special gardens. From landscape management and expert maintenance to seasonal planting, pruning and cleaning, we know exactly what needs to be done — and when to do it.
Creating a Positive Void This garden was created based upon traditional Japanese dry rock design techniques which have been in use for over 500 years. This technique simply utilizes rocks and white sand to express the beauty of the natural landscape without vegetation, ponds or streams.
Perfect Harmony – A Serene, Modern Retreat We are so proud to have our project featured in the recent issue of Home & Design Magazine. What we love about this project is that by designing both the interior and exterior it allows us to approach the design as one, creating a seamless flow in and… Read more »
Our Clients Sure Love Theirs! Tired of Shoveling Snow or paying for snow removal? Wondering if it’s a good idea to install a heated driveway? Our clients sure think so! Heated driveways, also called “snow-melting systems,” are a technological alternative to shoveling, salting, snow plowing, snow blowing, and other snow-removal methods.
ZEN Associates Garden – Chesapeake Bay Expression This design is a modern interpretation of a traditional Japanese garden – an expression of the nearby Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, abstractly represented as a dry garden. This garden offers a dramatically different version of the typical “back yard”.
Restoring a Beloved Boston Landmark The George Robert White Memorial, nicknamed “The Angel” by local residents, is a cherished Back Bay landmark. By the beginning of the millennium, however, the memorial was in disrepair: its fountain had stopped working and was overshadowed by overgrown shrubs and trees.
Top 50 Landscape Architects, 2017
Design – Best of Houzz 2017
Top 50 Landscape Architects, 2016
The Peace Bell Garden, United Nations, New York, NY Crown Prince of Japan, Naruhito, recently visited the Peace Bell Garden at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, NY which was designed by ZEN Associates. ZEN Associates’ Principal, Shin Abe, was honored with the opportunity to explain the concept and history of the garden to… Read more »
Peter White, Landscape Design
Boston, MA The New England Design Hall of Fame Induction Gala was held on November 12th at the State Room in downtown Boston. It was a special night to celebrate the highest caliber of work and those who have made a lasting impact on the design field in our region. One of ZEN Associates’ Principals,… Read more »
Inductee, Peter White, ZEN Associates We are proud to announce that the New England Design Hall of Fame for Landscape Architecture and Landscape Design has inducted one of ZEN Associates’ Principals, Peter White as one of its members.
Boston, MA ZEN Associates has just completed construction of The Labyrinth at Simmons College which was designed by Deneen Crosby of Crosby | Schlessinger | Smallridge.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston ZEN Associates is excited for the reopening of Tenshin-en, the Japanese Garden at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston on April 27, 2015. We are proud to have had the opportunity to work with the MFA and the original support team to renovate this wonderful garden. Tenshin-en’s much anticipated reopening… Read more »
5 Things to help your plants thrive! No one would argue that this has been a tough winter, but, in the end, it may have been toughest of all on plants, shrubs and sensitive trees. According to the arborists at ZEN Associates, here are five things to look out for after this brutal winter.
Annual Dinner ZEN Associates attended the Japan Society of Boston’s 2014 Annual Dinner and it was an exciting evening. The Annual Dinner was held at the Taj Boston.
Best Landscape Design Firm Northshore magazine recognizes ZEN Associates as Editor’s Choice for Best Landscape Design Firm in the Ninth Annual ‘Best of North Shore’ Awards and we are really excited about it!
The Boston Herald The Boston Herald recently featured a project that Maho Abe and Rina Okawa designed the interior for.
Ocean Home magazine ZEN Associates was featured in the Spring 2014 issue of Ocean Home, a luxury coastal lifestyle magazine, to discuss how pool cabanas and pavilions can add real value and enjoyment to oceanfront homes.
New Haven, CT As a landscape architectural firm rooted in Japanese design, we were honored to create a garden dedicated to Professor Kan’ichi Asakawa. His spirit is remembered with each leaf, his legacy with each stone.
Washington, D.C. In a city known for its Japanese cherry blossom trees, developing a restoration plan for a historic Japanese-style garden only seemed natural.
Gloucester, MA This contemporary pool, spa and pool house rest serenely upon Gloucester’s rocky shores, achieving the client’s dream of a retreat set apart from the main house, yet joined with nature.
Beacon Hill, MA This classic courtyard garden is a hidden gem in the heart of Boston’s Beacon Hill. Inspired by the home’s elegant beauty, we turned this landscape into a peaceful terraced garden.
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