History

The parent firm of SWA Group was Sasaki, Walker and Associates (SWA), established in 1957 in Watertown, Massachusetts by Hideo Sasaki and Peter Walker. Sasaki was chairman of the landscape architecture department of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and Walker was one of his students (Walker later became chairman of the same department). In 1959, Walker opened a regional office of Sasaki, Walker and Associates in San Francisco. Over time both Sasaki and Walker were bought out of their interests in the company. In 1973 SWA became SWA Group, and became one of the first companies on the West Coast to be owned by an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)—a vehicle that has resulted in the company becoming 100% employee-owned. SWA expanded from a West Coast firm in the 1960s and 70s to a fully national and international firm by the 1980s and 90s, with offices located across the United States (and in China in the 2000s). Its practice and philosophy have evolved from a firm of one or two lead principals into a collaborative, participatory group practice involving several seasoned and talented principals and associates—several of whom are recognized as among the most talented designers and planners in the profession. The firm’s projects have received over 600 awards, and in 2005 SWA received the Landscape Architecture Firm Award, as designated by the American Society of Landscape Architects.