Mo Helmi's Urban Mastery: Transforming Concrete into Thriving Spaces

As urban populations continue to rise amid challenges like heat and flooding, green spaces become essential infrastructure rather than luxuries. Mo Helmi, founder of Tricoastal Scapes, emphasizes the importance of integrating nature into city life for both environmental and human health.

Why Biophilic Design Matters Now

Helmi advocates for functional urban greening beyond aesthetics. His projects aim to cool air, support biodiversity, and enhance well-being while maintaining visual appeal. He identifies a gap in sustainable design practices and seeks to create spaces that benefit people and the environment.

Design as Infrastructure, Not Ornament

Before landscape design, Helmi worked in fashion, which honed his understanding of aesthetics and storytelling. These qualities aid him in addressing concerns that ecological focus might detract from beauty, by offering clients a vision they can imagine themselves in.

Case Study: The Soho Farmhouse Forest

A notable project turned a construction yard into a rewilded forest using the Miyawaki method for faster ecological development. This transformation was showcased at the Soho Summit as an example of how underused land can become valuable when designed with ecological and cultural goals.

Culture, Beauty, and the Future City

Initially underestimated due to his fashion background, Helmi has persisted and now contributes to discussions on public health and fire-aware landscapes in California. He aims to make urban nature highly desirable so people value it akin to luxury items. Achieving this shift represents a significant milestone in urban design.