Magdalena Aravena, founder of Studio Siembra in Des Moines, Iowa. Photo by Jennifer Marquez.
Magdalena Aravena, founder of Des Moines-based Studio Siembra, works with communities to make parks and other public spaces more inclusive.
By Lily Allen-Dueñas
How many memories do you have in a park? Perhaps memories of playing soccer, having a family picnic, or walking your dog. And how often have you thought about the person who decided where the trees, trails, playgrounds, and gathering spaces should go? For most people, probably never. For Magdalena Aravena, PLA, ASLA, it’s her life’s work.
Founder of Studio Siembra, a Des Moines-based landscape architecture and community engagement firm, Aravena designs parks, playgrounds, and public spaces with one guiding belief: the people who use those spaces should help shape them. “We design spaces that feel culturally responsive to the community they serve, so the community feels reflected in the spaces,” Aravena says.
Aravena studied civil engineering at the University of California, Davis before discovering landscape architecture almost by accident. “Landscape architecture was a lucky find. It’s a mix of ecology, art, creativity, science, and sociology. I have loved my career ever since I found it.”
A Practice Built Around Public Spaces
She founded Studio Siembra in 2021 while living in Denver and relocated the business to Des Moines in 2024. Born in Chile, Aravena moved to the United States at age 9. Along the way, she discovered that her passion wasn’t designing private developments. It was designing public spaces, where community members have a voice in the final result. “Studio Siembra was part of figuring out how I wanted to be as a landscape architect and the impact I wanted to have, not only on the profession but on how we work with communities,” she says.
Her bilingual team translates not only language but also technical design concepts, helping Spanish-speaking residents fully participate in the planning process.
Public projects require community engagement, but not everyone feels comfortable attending those meetings. Language barriers, lack of awareness, or simply not seeing anyone who looks like you can prevent people from participating. Studio Siembra works to change that.
The firm partners with municipalities and communities across Iowa, Colorado, and the Midwest to design inclusive public spaces while ensuring community voices are heard throughout the process.
In Spanish, siembra means “sowing.” “We’re sowing seeds of a more beautiful world. We’re sowing seeds of optimism. We’re sowing seeds of more health. We’re planting all of these little things to create spaces and environments that are healthier, more beautiful, and more functional.”
A Park Shaped by Local Stories
One project especially reinforced that philosophy. While redesigning La Raza Park in Denver, Aravena spent months listening to residents share memories, traditions, and hopes for the park’s future. During one community meeting, a group of dragonflies suddenly appeared. Community members became emotional, explaining that dragonflies represented visits from ancestors and blessings from their elders.
“From one story about dragonflies, we were able to carry that narrative through the design of the park so that, when it opened, it still carried the meaning and culture the community had been craving,” she says. That story became part of the park itself through dragonfly motifs and a cloud-themed playground.
Magdalena Aravena and her mother, Andrea Gutierrez. Photo by Jennifer Marquez.
Mentorship and Collaborative Growth
Aravena also hopes to inspire other Latina entrepreneurs. “There’s no bigger, more radical protest than just being who you are,” she says. She also encourages Latinas to build relationships within their industries and seek meaningful connections. “Knowing people who are doing something different or impactful gives you a perspective that’s hard to find if you’re not connected in that way.”
Mentorship has also shaped her journey. “Instead of looking for a mentor, I’ve tried to build relationships that are more reciprocal, where the other person feels like you also have something to give,” she says. “Start with, ‘How can I help you?’ rather than, ‘Here’s how you can help me.’ I find that creates much stronger relationships.”
Looking ahead, Aravena is launching a collective of small landscape architecture firms that can collaborate while maintaining their independence. “We’re trying to increase our capacity without losing the autonomy that having my own business entails. We’re reimagining what a successful business model might look like.”
At the heart of Studio Siembra is the unwavering belief that every community deserves to see itself reflected in the places it calls home.
More stories: Explore more JEFAS Magazine profiles.
