“Ichigaya Forest” is the privately owned, publicly accessible, major open space on Dai Nippon Printing Company’s 5.4-hectare new world headquarters in the Shinjuku Ward. Vertical development and production modernization that extends underground was made possible the creation of this 3.2-hectare open space. Over half the site is now planted with native trees, shrubs, and ground cover, creating a unique urban forest with peaceful pathways and small plazas to accommodate the 10,000 DNP employees and their Ichigaya neighbors.
The design team’s vision of returning a mature native forest to this dense urban neighborhood serves as a catalyst for similar future developments, and sets a precedent of resiliency for this Asian megalopolis. To recreate the native forest, SWA developed a “native” soil profile and natural drainage processes to promote infiltration and reduce runoff. Natural stormwater management processes are designed to enrich the forest and keep all rainfall on the site. Hardscape areas are minimized, to reduce surface runoff and heat island effect. Natural pavement materials are used in the secondary pedestrian circulation throughout the site, both to minimize environmental impacts and to look and feel like forest paths.
San Jacinto Plaza
SWA’s redesign of San Jacinto Plaza, a historic gathering place in El Paso’s downtown business district provides a state-of-the-art urban open space, while protecting and celebrating the history and culture of the site. The project was the result of an intensive community process involving input from a wide range of constituents. Active programming, environmen...
Gubei Gold Street
SWA was selected to conceptualize, design, and realize a rare find in bustling Shanghai—a pedestrian mall (Gold Street). The corridor occupies three city blocks, is flanked by 20-story high-rise residential towers with retail at street level and book-ended by SWA-designed parks. Creating an iconic presence and enlivening the area, the mall features plazas, fou...
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...
Bend of the River Botanic Garden
The Bend of the River Botanic Garden Master Plan will transform an 88-acre site in Temple, Texas, into a regional destination. Located at the southeast quadrant of the intersection of interstate I35 and the Leon River, the site is composed of two parcels separately donated to the City of Temple and consolidated into a single property. Public engagement was cr...