Q&A - Nazneen Sabavala

Sabavala has designed landscapes for some of the biggest names in Hollywood.

Nazneen Sabavala, director of landscape design for Dubai’s 3 Square was born in India, raised in Dubai and educated in the Middle East and the USA.

Equipped with a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture, Sabavala graduated from the University of Southern California (USC) with a Master’s in Building Science (focusing on environmental design) and a mixture of optimism and ambition. But this was California. In 2001. A recession was on then, too.

After holding out for as long as she could, Sabavala grudgingly agreed to an interview with an LA-based landscape designer despite knowing very little about the profession. That interview would come to change her life.

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Building on a love of nature and discovering a dormant talent for designing with organic material, Sabavala quickly found herself at the heart of the Beverly Hills landscape design community.

Whether it’s a symmetrical outdoor yoga studio, a whimsical series of water features or a perfectly rhythmic area for entertaining guests, she has provided bespoke designs to some of the biggest names in Hollywood.

By her own admission, Sabavala has loved every day of her career as a landscape designer and wouldn’t return to built architecture if the opportunity presented itself.

In 2008 she returned to Dubai to tackle a market that she considers ‘a blank slate’ in terms of landscape design. She spent 30 minutes of her time with Jeff Roberts.

THE BEGINNING
How did you develop an interest in architecture & design?
NS: In the beginning, I always wanted to be an architect. I don’t know if it was the aesthetic aspect or the creative aspect or a combination.

I was born in Puna, which is very close to Mumbai. It has several beautiful buildings, mostly old relics left over from the British period, but the modern stuff is really ugly.

Something you look at everyday has the power to inspire you or disgust you. Passing that contrast of buildings everyday on the way home or to school must have subconsciously influenced me to think I could do a better job than some of the stuff that’s there. That’s where my interest in architecture began.