North Bund Riverside Park, located on a prominent 2.1 km waterfront along Shanghai’s Huangpu River, is the first project of its kind in Shanghai to address contiguous waterfront open space. The goal of the associated international competition was to find innovative solutions to transform a post-industrial waterfront with historic elements into a viable active place for the city’s residents. SWA’s winning proposal for the park is concentrated on the concept of ‘fluidity’, referring to the fluid movements of the tidal river, transportation systems and people within a complex waterfront site. The concept seeks to understand the various circulation requirements of landscape and architecture and merge them into a set of graceful, flowing system of pathways, roadways and interconnected spaces. By allowing ongoing uses of passive and active recreation, the design orients itself toward accommodating the flooding condition of the river. Additionally, open plazas and small parks are integrated into the landscape to allow for places of respite for visitors, playing off of the ‘borrowed landscape’ of buildings, ramps and platforms in order to heighten user experience. Embedded vestiges of the past are incorporated into the plan, including design elements such as light poles, bollards, graphics, rails and cranes, and are now used to enhance and connect the past to the present and future. Through an understanding and sensitivity to tidal changes, historic architectural elements, and transportation networks, SWA has created a master plan designed to provide a seamless and integrated landscape that embeds itself in and ultimately enhances the waterfront of Shanghai.
San Pedro Waterfront Connectivity Plan
Spanning over 460 acres and 8 linear miles of waterfront, the Port of Los Angeles is among the most important pieces of infrastructure in the Western Hemisphere—the largest container port in the U.S., a linchpin for global logistics, and an industrial hub critical to San Pedro and L.A. County at large.
Today, the Port is imagining a more connective, acc...
Rio 2016 Olympic Park Competition
SWA was awarded 2nd place in the 2016 Olympic Park Competition in Rio de Janeiro for their master plan and landscape architecture proposal. The Olympics will be located on a 118-hectare site in the neighborhood of Barra da Tijuca. The underlying concept of ‘Embrace’ weaves through the design in a grand planning gesture, which both defines the Olympic Games and...
OCT Bay
Located in Shenzhen, OCT Bay has a combined site area of approximately 1.25 square kilometers including equal parts new urban center and nature preserve. SWA provided both master planning and landscape architectural services for the entire site. As a new urban cultural and entertainment destination, OCT Bay provides urban amenities, entertainment components, p...
Fuyang Riverfront
Seizing the area’s reputation for “one of the best mountain and water views in the world,” the natural framework along both sides of the Fuchun River inspires this plan integrating urban spaces with landscape to create a harmonious skyline. Fuyang flourishes with economic prosperity while honoring its vibrant cultural heritage.
The scope includes urban d...