Meet 2024 New England Design Hall of Fame Inductee Renée Byers

Portrait by Bruce Gorovin

Photograph by George Byers

Photograph by George Byers

Photograph by George Byers

Photograph by Annie Schlechter

Renée Byers: Crafting Outdoor Oases That Inspire Joy

Renée Byers creates landscapes that bring her clients unbridled happiness—and that means everything to her. “Drawing people outdoors into their own private oasis is one of the greatest joys I’ll ever experience,” says the landscape architect.

From Farm Roots to Architectural Inspiration

With a painterly eye and technical acumen, she has been transforming suburban and estate gardens—often set in difficult terrain—through her private practice for twenty-five years. Based in Greenwich, Connecticut, Byers grew up in Des Moines, spending summers with cousins on working farms in the country. She says her love of the outdoors and appreciation of architecture were inspired by “iconic images of white farmhouses with covered front porches.” Trained in landscape architecture at the University of Minnesota, she was also “immersed in art and architectural history” while an exchange student in the south of France.

Collaboration and Travel as Creative Catalysts

Byers says she loved the challenges of her early landscape work for corporate projects but found her true calling in residential design. And she lives for
collaboration: “I not only enjoy it but thrive on it,” she says—from the initial client meeting, to working with allied architecture and engineering professionals, to building a project from the ground up with contractors and artisans. “It’s unbelievably rewarding, and my education continues every single day,” she says.

Byers’s travels are a big part of the inspiration behind her designs. “I discover gardens and landscapes wherever we go,” she admits. “Whether we are visiting historical gardens, vernacular landscapes, modernist works, or national parks, there are always timeless threads to be found that can be woven into the commissions our firm has back home.”

Landscape architecture never gets old for her, either. “I have a terrifically talented, young studio and adore sharing my passion for the designed landscape with them,” she says. “Every project, every site brings new challenges and unique opportunities, and we can’t wait to see what’s next.”