Three SWA Projects Win 2026 ASLA Professional Awards
SWA has received three Honor Awards in the American Society of Landscape Architects’ 2026 Professional Awards: Guangming Dadingling Mountain Forest Greenway, Longgang River Blueway, and the Resilience Hub Network Master Plan for the City of Houston.
Additionally, multiple SWA-ers were recognized in ASLA’s annual Student Awards. From SWA’s San Francisco studio, Samuel Green earned an Award of Excellence in Urban Design for “Roots Over Roads: Reclaiming Oakland’s I-980 Corridor.” From the Los Angeles Studio, Junyi Yang and Wei-Ting (Daniel) Su won an Honor Award in Urban Design for “A Botanical and Inclusive Vision for Escobedo.” Also from the LA studio, Hanrui (Freya) Fu received an Honor Award in General Design for “Fluid Itineraries: Rewetting Hobrechtsfelde.” Additionally, San Francisco-based Andie Kennedy received an Honor Award from ASLA’s Pennsylvania-Delaware chapter for his graduate work.
Guangming Dadingling Mountain Forest Greenway: Bridging City and Canopy
Honor Award, General Design
Designed by SWA’s Shanghai studio, the 8.3-kilometer greenway transforms an underused regional trail into a destination through three site-specific structures: the Floating Bridge, whose layered rings appear to hover above a forested valley; the Discovery Bridge, a quiet suspended platform over a woodland pond; and the Wind Song Bridge, which sways gently as it spans a wind-funneled valley on flexible steel straps. Each structure was designed to protect the ecology beneath it while opening new views of the surrounding canopy, lake, and skyline. The jury praised the project’s ability to “transform underutilized spaces into dynamic, memorable, and ecologically sensitive destinations,” highlighting its technical ingenuity and the way it engages the public while honoring the region’s natural and cultural character.
Restoring a River, Reconnecting a City: Longgang River Blueway
Honor Award, Urban Design
Led by SWA’s Houston studio in collaboration with Shenzhen BLY Landscape, Architecture and Planning Design Institute, HASSELL, and Shenzhen Urban Planning & Design Institute, this 20-kilometer transformation reimagines a concrete flood channel in East Shenzhen as a resilient, accessible riverfront. The project combines river renaturalization, precision dredging, and habitat restoration with more than 100 new public access points, reconnecting communities with the water while strengthening flood protection. Completed in December 2025, the corridor now links dense urban districts with suburban and rural landscapes through continuous trails, wetlands, and civic gathering spaces shaped in part by local Hakka culture.
Houston Resilience Hub Network Master Plan
Honor Award, Analysis & Planning
Developed by SWA’s Houston studio for the City of Houston’s Mayor’s Office of Resilience and Sustainability, the master plan establishes a citywide network of Resilience Hubs, Super Spots, and Spots—community-serving facilities that coordinate resources for residents during daily life, disasters, and recovery. Drawing on GIS analysis to identify communities isolated by freeways, bayous, and infrastructure, the plan pairs municipal facilities with community-led partners to close gaps in access to preparedness training, services, and climate-ready buildings. The plan is intended to serve as a national model for cities confronting similar vulnerabilities.