Design concept · Landscape & outdoor
The Olive Grove Terrace
A villa garden planted as a small olive grove, with a long, narrow pool, a shaded terrace and paths of gravel and travertine.
The concept brief
Design narrative
A concept for the 800 m² garden and pool terrace of a villa in a New Cairo compound.
Compound gardens are often laid out as lawn with a pool dropped into the middle. This concept starts from shade and water use instead. A regular grid of mature olive trees covers most of the garden over a floor of compacted gravel and drought-tolerant groundcover, giving dappled shade and a quiet, orchard-like order. Lawn is kept to one small play area near the house, where it will be used most.
A long, narrow pool runs along one edge of the grove, lined in a soft grey-green and edged in honed travertine, so it reads as a garden canal as much as a place to swim. Near the house, a travertine terrace under a walnut-slatted pergola holds dining and lounge areas, and low stone walls double as seating. At night, warm uplights in the olive canopy and a few bronze bollards light the paths without flattening the garden.
- Nature
- Studio concept study — not a client project
- Typology
- Landscape & outdoor living
- Setting
- Egypt
Design concept · Visualisation
Concept visualisations
Studio reference visualisation — dedicated render in production 
Studio reference visualisation — dedicated render in production 
Studio reference visualisation — dedicated render in production
Materials
Material palette
- Honed travertineTerrace paving, pool coping and low walls
- Olive foliageThe grove and silver groundcover
- Pale gravelThe garden floor and paths
- Grey-green pool liningThe long pool
- Walnut slatsThe terrace pergola
- Brushed bronzeBollards and lanterns
Key design moves
- 01A grove instead of a lawnOlive trees on gravel, chosen for shade, structure and low water use.
- 02A pool as a canalA long, narrow pool edges the grove like a garden water channel.
- 03A shaded terraceDining and lounge areas sit under a walnut-slatted pergola by the house.
- 04Light in the canopyUplights in the olive trees and low bollards keep the garden soft at night.
Design concepts
More design concepts
Start your project
Like this direction for your own space?
Every NoVi project starts from your site and your brief. Book a free consultation and our designers will develop a concept for you.
