This major Taiwanese electronics company chose the “Electronics Center” of Taipei overlooking the Gee Long River for their new headquarters. The overall concept is of a 25-story slender tower rising above a sloped landscape podium that covers much of the site. Below-grade parking slopes toward the river on one side, with the urban center on the other side. This configuration maximizes views from the tower and for users of the landscape gardens. The podium provides security, view gardens, and a green roof, while retaining stormwater for irrigation, and providing insulation for the public spaces below.
The podium at the rear of the site slopes one story to the street, where a major vehicular entry provides access into the recessed atrium court. The larger podium on the riverside slopes two stories down to the boulevard. A second vehicular drop off is on this podium at the front building face. As the garden slopes away from the tower, stepped water features create visual and aural interest. Halfway down the garden, a light well opens to a courtyard below that is viewed from the cafeteria at the lower level. Stepped fountains in the courtyard and a grove of Madagascar almond trees can be viewed from the cafeteria or from the pedestrian bridges on the podium above. Camphor and Golden Rain orchards serve as street trees.
The generous open space around the tower gives it distinction in a dense urban context, and plays a major role in accomplishing the vision of the owner: a total “green” development. Conceived before LEED accreditation, this was the first green roof envisioned and built by a private party in Taipei.
Google Headquarters
As a winner of the ASLA’s Centennial Medallion, this project is recognized as one of the most significant landscapes of the last century. The former SGI campus, acquired by Google in 2004, and the adjacent Charleston Park, comprise a 26-acre brownfield site.The design creates a strong identity for the campus and provides a much-needed civic space, blurring dis...
Ichigaya Forest
“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 wi...
Nanjing Tech Campus
This industrial park, located in Nanjing’s prominent Hongshan District, is an iterative upgrade of Shenzhen Galaxy World that will activate industry and finance city innovation. SWA proposed a “rivers and stars” design concept for the north and south commercial districts respectively, creating an attractive, flowing, high-quality commercial landscape for this ...
Technology Enterprise Campus
This corporate campus aims to provide a creative, multi-functional space with an authentic Houston character. The development is located in Springwoods Village, one of North Houston’s most progressive mixed-use communities. The design’s spaces include an arrival garden, a social park, an event terrace, and multi-function athletic court, which combine to establ...