Alex Hildebrandt
Director, Lead Designer, Masters of Sustainable Product Design
Thank you for stopping by and showing interest in regenerative landscape design and Studio Milpa. My aim with this studio is to rethink our relationship to our land with the gardens that we create. I believe that gardens aren't just for us, as entertainment or to nourish the soul, but they're also an opportunity to create a safe haven for wildlife, pollinators and our imaginations to be free.
The Story So Far...
Do you know how you make it through life wondering what your purpose might be? That wasn't me, I always knew I wanted to become a designer. I had the privilege to get a Bachelors degree in Industrial Design in The Netherlands and a Masters Degree in Sustainable Product Design in Spain, only to realise that such a thing as "sustainable" product design didn't exist (we can debate this, please contact me).
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Disillusioned, I did what anyone would do, I went into sales, and while this career choice wasn't what I ultimately wanted, it gave me a lot of opportunity to travel, learn about communication, the importance of trust and it got me up the corporate ladder. Until I got made redundant.
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With a severance package and a lot of time in hand, I made the best decision in life and decided to apply my design knowledge to the only design field that has an opportunity to be sustainable. I also saw what adverse weather events like floods and cyclones had on Auckland, where I live and realised that for us to become resilient, we need to rethink how we design our gardens. I reached out to some landscapers, jumped on the tools as apprentice and started learning from the ground up (pun intended).
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It's with Studio Milpa, that I hope to grow a vision of communities made up of resilient gardens that provide food, shelter and protection for all creatures and critters, one garden at a time.
Contact
I'm always looking for new and exciting opportunities. Let's connect.
022 592 0834
