Following SWA’s development of a 2013 master plan for a new town center adjacent to the existing Brentwood Shopping Mall, the firm was enlisted to design the project’s public realm and expand its role as an integrated, sustainable, urban community. With key connectivity to main vehicular arteries and a high-speed train line, the new development functions as a major hub for the region, featuring 12 residential towers, extensive new retail, and public spaces, including urban plazas, streetscapes, and public facilities.
A new plaza, in the heart of the north sector, functions as the north terminus for Brentwood Boulevard (the internal artery that cuts through the entire site from south east to north west). The design focuses on creating a continuum of urban landscape spaces, with a particular focus on pedestrian circulation and the establishment of several smaller, more intimate public spaces. Continuity of paving materials and streetscape treatments provide a seamless transition from one area to the other. A new plaza sits at the core of the new development, and ties together the existing mall with the new towers and retail spaces. The project extends the Willingdon Avenue streetscape to the north, providing additional rain gardens and bicycle lanes. Pocket plazas along the edge of Willingdon offer opportunities for small outdoor patios and cafes. A community center, at the north east corner of the site, interfaces with the adjacent neighborhood. A green buffer follows the north edge of the site, allowing pedestrian and bicycle circulation through a meandering path/bike lane. All buildings have roof gardens and additional landscape spaces on the top floors.
Jianhua Mixed-Use Center
Located at the Western base of Baiyun Mountain, this mixed-use center captures the landmark peak’s influence on the site. In contrast to a modern architectural facade, the fluid and organic landscape suggests the erosion of the preexisting baserock by the adjacent creek. Stone is the main landscape material, and CNC technology is used to accomplish the organic...
Amber Bay
The Amber Bay residential development is located on a beautiful rocky promontory that is among the last available parcels along the Dalian shoreline, southeast of the city center. The project features high-end low density modern style residential development including single family villas, townhouses, and low-rise condominiums; shops and seafood restaurants on...
Avenida Houston
SWA and the architect’s narrative of nature and industry united underscores the design of the new 140,000-square-foot (3-1/2 acre) Avenida Houston plaza, adjacent to the freshly renovated George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston. Key to the theme of nature as it plays out in this new events space is the famous central flyway that offers hundreds o...
Downtown Summerlin
Downtown Summerlin is a 109-acre, high-end retail and entertainment lifestyle center forming the heart of a 22,500-acre master-planned community in the western suburbs of Las Vegas. The landscape design emphasizes the need for comfort and shade while drawing upon the natural desert environment as a visual source for materials, colors, and textures. By distilli...