Design begins with understanding.
Who we are, how we work, where we are heading.
01
Our story
Weaving landscape and architecture together.
SIGNES Architecture et Urbanisme was founded in 2011 by Sibila Jaksic and landscape architect Alain Cousseran, to bring landscape and architecture into one practice, as clients increasingly asked for both. We have taken on projects from river corridors to waterfronts and public spaces across five continents. Since 2026, we have focused on the growing demand from clients for international work.
02
Listen to the place.
Understand the people.
Shape the relationship.
How we think
Every community has its own needs, and every site its own character. We put our know-how at the service of both: we listen first, then design landscapes and buildings in harmony with their location, share their benefits equally to all users, and adapt to a changing climate. Each new project teaches us something, and we carry it into the next.
Our mission
03
Places that serve people and nature.
We design landscapes, public spaces and buildings that make the environment more equitable, restore biodiversity and strengthen communities against climate change. We work for public authorities, development institutions and private clients, from first sketch to finished place.
Our vision
04
Happy places, happy people.
We imagine cities and natural landscapes that work for everyone: where rain is welcomed, waterfronts are open to all, and nature and biodiversity are part of everyday life. Landscapes that produce food, welcome visitors, give people a good place to live, and make them proud of where they live.
Nature first, from the first sketch
Biodiversity is part of every project, not a layer added at the end. Healthy habitats sustain the natural systems places depend on, and make them more resilient to climate change. With nature under growing pressure, we protect what already exists first, then restore and connect. We work with ecologists and botanists from our network of partners, and follow the environmental safeguards of our funders and the laws of each country. Considering habitats early also avoids costly delays later.
01 Understand early
Ecologists join at the feasibility stage. We map habitats, soils, water and species, to know what to protect before we draw.
02 Connect
We link the site to the wider nature network, with water and planting that filter runoff and create new wetland habitat.
03 Plant for the place
Native and endemic species first, chosen with local botanists, in layers that cope with drought and flood. Invasive species are identified and avoided.
04 Care for the long term
Where doing less lets nature do more, we leave it be. Communities are trained to look after their spaces, and a management plan follows the project over time.
In practice
- Bonoumin Canal, Abidjan. A 6.5 km drainage canal becomes a green and biological corridor, with 1,658 trees, permeable gabion and rock banks that can flood gradually, and filtering gardens for the effluents.
- Majuro, Marshall Islands. Streets planted for shade and drained in step with the ground, and a plant nursery being set up with the Department of Forestry.
From first study to finished place.
What we do
SCOPE OF WORK · WHAT WE DELIVER
- Strategy, studies and planning – Masterplans, feasibility studies, programming, urban and landscape strategies
- GIS and territorial analysis – Mapping and site analysis that informs design decisions
- Design – Concept to detailed design of public spaces, waterfronts, river corridors and parks, and small buildings in landscape
- Permits and approvals – Building permits (permis de construire) and development permits (permis d’aménager), prepared and followed through to approval
- Technical documents and tenders – Drawings, specifications, bills of quantities, cost estimates and procurement support
- Construction supervision – Following the works on site, so that what is built matches the design
- 3D, BIM visualization and films – Models and images that make projects easy to understand
- Project leadership – Team leader for multi-disciplinary teams on projects funded by development banks
THEMES · AREAS OF EXPERTISE
- Nature-based solutions – Water, planting and habitat that adapt places to climate change
- Designing with communities – Consultation, participation and co-design
- Climate adaptation and resilience
- Ecology and biodiversity
- Local resources – Using materials nearby the site, re-using where practical, and respecting the local context