SWA worked closely with the client and architect in siting the house to maximize views and preserve opportunities in which to develop the landscape. The varied program for the landscape included a small family vineyard, a multi-use field, flower gardens, fountains, terraces, a koi pond, swimming pool and spa, tennis courts, courtyards, a heli-pad and guest parking. The landscape design incorporates these program elements into a formal framework of connected open spaces and paths. The landscape maintains a dialogue with the building plan to foster interesting opportunities in which the interior functions of the building can extend outdoors. The design also condenses the program within an efficient area to minimize impact on the natural landscape. Native grasses, trees, and the natural landforms are used extensively to integrate these new interventions.
Crest Apartments
Situated within the suburban context of the Los Angeles Valley, Crest Apartments provides 64 residences for the homeless, including 23 reserved for disabled veterans. The building’s striking geometry is complemented by a flexible, multi-layered, and multi-textured landscape that support social, experiential, and environmental programs. The ground cover plant s...
Revisiting SunCity Kashiwa
Elderly residents at SunCity Kashiwa are no longer at a loss for dinner conversation: an underutilized terrace outside their extensive ground-level common spaces now features a dramatic pond and mountain-inspired rock formation with multiple cascading waterfalls. Everyone wants a window seat. The striking water feature crowns a new four-season view garden desi...
Senayan Square Apartment Towers
An upscale complex of four apartment buildings in downtown Jakarta catering to visiting executives and their families required landscape design services to ground two recently constructed towers. Providing inspiration for enriching this flat, undifferentiated site were the country’s ubiquitous, terraced rice paddies, located just beyond the city’s border. The ...
The Camellias Garden
The Camellias Garden is inspired by the verdant green gardens of India and the petals of one of Asia’s most beautiful and vibrant native plant species: the camellia flower. These blooms’ flowing curves and lines are interpreted within the Garden’s design, drawing residents of these 16 luxury apartment towers out into the landscape and offering the sense of bei...