Situated within Foshan’s emerging art district near the Nanhai Art Center, Poly VITA reimagines high-density residential living by drawing from the spatial traditions of Lingnan water town culture. The design translates the layered, processional quality of classical southern Chinese gardens into a contemporary community landscape, moving residents through a sequence of art-infused spaces from the public edge to the intimate residential core.
A looping trail system doubles as required fire access while connecting exercise stations, contemplative gardens, and children’s play areas throughout the site. Rather than treating safety infrastructure as a constraint, the design integrates it into a continuous recreational path that threads together the community’s activity nodes.
At the heart of the development, a sculptural pavilion inspired by Lingnan tea house architecture anchors a gently bermed amphitheater, offering flexible space for daily use and larger community gatherings. Surrounding gardens draw on regional cultural programs, incorporating native species — Albizia falcataria, Terminalia mantaly, and Sweet Osmanthus — to reinforce a sense of place while mitigating urban heat island effects.
Custom paving patterns reference the Poly brand identity, marking arrival moments at building entries, while a layered lighting program featuring sculptural installations extends the landscape’s utility into the evening hours.
Vi Living (Formerly Classic Residence By Hyatt)
The Classic Residence by Hyatt in Palo Alto provides seniors with independent and assisted living facilities. The roughly 19-acre site is adjacent to the San Francisquito Creek, a shopping mall, and two in-progress SWA projects- Ronald McDonald House and Stanford West Apartments. Hyatt has been working closely with SWA as well as the City of Palo Alto and Stan...
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...
SunCity Yokohama
SunCity Yokohama is a continuum of care retirement community operated by Health Care Japan Co., Ltd., a leader in Japan’s fast growing senior housing communities. With Perkins Eastman Architects PC, SWA completed the master planning phase of the project and is providing schematic design. The plan consists of two single building “villages” connected...
Larkspur Courts
SWA was hired to help reclaim an abandoned quarry into an attractive residential village. The program called for 256du on 12.5 net acres, a density of 2.5 du/acre. The City of Larkspur required that 97 of the total units be family units. They defined family units as residences with two or more bedrooms and located not more than one level above grade. The City ...