The 275-acre Baton Rouges Lakes system is a series of six lakes in central Baton Rouge adjacent to Louisiana State University, three major parks, and a diverse mix of neighborhoods. Recognizing opportunity in crisis, a newly funded master plan provides sound ecological restoration methods that will heal a dying lake system while reconnecting the region to its ecological and cultural heritage. No longer the epicenter of “cancer alley,” the Baton Rouge Lakes, as the centerpiece of Louisiana’s capital, have the potential to elevate the city’s identity to one based on best management practices, positioning man and water in equilibrium. Using nature as a catalyst for healthy lifestyles while providing habitat infrastructure for migratory birds and aquatic wildlife, the project will serve as a touchpoint for visitors from across the Parish and throughout the country to experience Louisiana in a new way. The first phase of work identified corrects water quality issues; phase two provides safe pedestrian, bike, and vehicular connectivity; phase three includes ten projects that produce recreational opportunities for a broad cross section of users. To guide the project toward implementation, a nonprofit Lakes Conservancy has been created.
To learn more about the effort from SWA Principal Kinder Baumgardner, please see his interview with the Baton Rouge Area Foundation.
Riverside Park South
Located on the West Side of Manhattan on the scenic Hudson River shoreline, Riverside Park South is a massive, multiphase project of sweeping ambition and historic scope. Combining new green space, new infrastructure, and the renovation of landmark industrial buildings, the plan – originally devised by Thomas Balsley Associates in 1991 – is an extension of Fre...
Perk Park
Originally completed in 1972, this vestige of IM Pei’s urban renewal plan was built when the street was seen as a menace and parks turned inward. Rolling berms surrounded the edges and the sunken middle areas were filled with concrete retaining walls. After years of decline, Thomas Balsley Associates’ designed a plan to reunite the community with its park. The...
SIPG Harbor City Parks
This new riverfront development is located on the Yangtze River in the Baoshan District of Shanghai. This area boasts some of the highest shipping activity in the world. However, in recent years this single-function industrial zone has given way, allowing for waterfront parks to develop. Within this historically layered water front the Baoshan Park and Open Sp...
Bensonhurst Park
Bensonhurst Park is part of the larger Shore Parkway, an 816.1-acre collection of parks that stretches across Brooklyn and Queens. Today, the site provides a series of pathways, passive seating areas, recreational fields and a playground.
SWA/Balsley created a master plan for the redesign of the north end of the park and final design and construction doc...