Biltmore House and its home grounds took their final form through the close collaboration of George Vanderbilt, architect Richard Morris Hunt, and Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed and carried out the landscape plan. Hunt focused on the house and Olmsted on the grounds, but they at times shared ideas to create a functional and harmonious whole, while Vanderbilt encouraged the ambitious ideas of both men. Olmsted worked by the principle of subordination, meaning that every element of a landscape design should serve the overall effect and not overwhelm any part. The landscaping near Biltmore House was intended to highlight the French Renaissance style chosen by Hunt and Vanderbilt. Although Olmsted usually favored a more naturalistic style, as seen in the Approach Road, he also created formal spaces such as the Italian Garden to match the house's architecture, an uncommon feature in his landscape work.