Nigel Dunnett

Nigel Dunnett is Professor of Planting Design and Urban Horticulture at the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Sheffield (UK). His work revolves around the integration of ecology and horticulture. Starting from the environmental aspects studied in nature, it transforms urban landscapes with the aim of obtaining low management inputs with a strong ecological impact, maintaining attention to aesthetic values.

A primary objective of Dunnett is to shift the consideration of urban design from the decorative role to a more functional one that takes into account the main themes and issues dictated by climate change and a sustainable future. His ideas have been applied to large-scale projects and his aim is that this philosophy be developed also in favor of smaller dimensions. Dunnett’s commitment is based on decades of experimental research and practical applications in the UK and around the world. 

Ambassador to the Royal Horticultural Society, former Garden Club of America International Fellow, Dunnett is author and co-author of several publications on sustainable design that specifically cover green roofs, roofs, roofs, roofs, roofs, roofs, roofs, roofs, vertical walls and Rain Garden where the emphasis is placed on the importance in the management of rainwater in the design. Recent efforts include: The Queen Elizabeth London Olympic Park (in collaboration with James Hitchmough), The Barbican Centre in London and Grey to Green in Sheffield.

In 2018, she won the Landscape Institute Award for Planting Design, Public Horticulture and Strategic Ecology and the Landscape Institute Fellows Prize for Most Outstanding Project.