The Grand Mansion Hotel sits atop a historical museum on the site of a former palace, the ruins of which have been preserved and are now an extension of the main museum exhibit, with parts that can be seen across the street. The overall design concept was to reinterpret a traditional leisure garden featuring Japanese cherry, bamboo, and maple trees, and the greenery here forms a link with the palace garden across the way. A simple and serene rooftop garden terrace, located on the museum/hotel’s third level, is also designed to draw your eye across the street to the palace ground. Sitting there with the cascading sounds of water falling and a view of the city in the distance may indeed encourage one’s thoughts to travel back to a simpler time. The primary water feature has infinity edge and provides a reflective surface to recall and merge the historical ground of the ancient past to the present. Sycamore trees along the site’s edge provide a screen for the museum and a hardscape plaza at ground level accommodates street drop-off for guests.
Grand Hyatt Mumbai
The Grand Hyatt Mumbai is a 750-room, five-star hotel near the Mumbai Airport. SWA’s site development concept reflects a contemporary interpretation of the historic Moghul garden. Water channels, cascades and reflecting pools link the site and create a garden setting for the upscale, urban hotel. Extensive rooftop gardens provide an outdoor gathering area for ...
Hyatt Gainey Ranch
The 28-acre site is part of an existing master planned resort community. The golf course and lake were existing. The owner wanted water gardens and had in mind tropical gardens with artificial rocks and rope bridges. The designers convinced the owner that a concept that recalled ancient South American themes was more appropriate for the desert. Lines of date p...
Marriott Marquis Hotel
The Houston Marriott Marquis Hotel takes advantage of its proximity to Discovery Green Park and the George R. Brown Convention Center with a distinctive arrival court, pedestrian-friendly streetscape, and clear connections to the Avenida de Las Americas and the new light rail station on Rusk Street. The SWA-designed 6th-floor amenity deck overlooks ...
Kyoto Hotel
This project transforms an old elementary school site into an iconic destination for visitors and community. SWA reinterpreted the traditions and culture of Kyoto and proposed a poetic landscape design for this former schoolyard, transforming it into a welcoming community garden and courtyard.
The courtyard, as a public space, is designed simply, provid...