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.
Waldorf Astoria and Beverly Hilton (LA)
In collaboration with SWA The Waldorf and Hilton enterprises combined forces to revitalize their Art Deco-inspired Beverly Hills hotels with fresh, more sustainable landscapes. SWA designed custom planters for the Waldorf entry drive and exterior garden of the Beverly Hilton, leveraging the concept of a “veil” to organize a series of hedges and screens that bu...
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...
The Address Residence Dubai
The Address Residence is centrally located in Dubai’s Burj Opera District, adjacent to the Burj Khalifa and Lake, and along new waterfront retail development. In this fast-paced environment, the Address Dubai offers unparalleled luxury that inspires rest and relaxation. Whether you are a resident enjoying the pool with family, an art aficionado strolling in th...
Virgin Hotel Dallas
The Virgin Hotel Dallas is a boutique hotel appropriately set within the city’s design district, carrying forward Virgin’s high standards of distinctive, comfortable luxury programs and experiences for guests. SWA worked with the architecture and interior design team to propose a modern spin on an urban hotel constrained by an extremely small site. Fronting H...