ARTIC, the new 16-acre Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center in Southern California, forms a seamless gateway from Anaheim to all of Orange County, spurring economic growth and community redevelopment throughout the region. The landscape design establishes a unique and identifiable image for the ARTIC Mixed-Use District by complementing the site’s iconic architecture with a strong streetscape identity. A large central plaza, designed to evoke the feel of a European square, integrates passenger drop-off areas, a central pedestrian zone, and a forecourt for the terminal building. Artwork is incorporated into the overall plaza design adding aesthetic diversity and visual interest to the site. Rows of olive trees and succulent plantings on either side of the building and plaza further unify architecture and site. The olive trees provide shaded seating areas for riders waiting for their buses while the succulent garden adds vibrant color and texture to the space surrounding the building. Date palms and canopy trees provide a dramatic, shaded outdoor environment for civic events and informal socializing, and visitors are afforded a relaxing riverfront walk along the Santa Ana River. In the future, a continuation of the Date Palms along a pedestrian promenade in the center of the northern parking lot will establish a strong visual and pedestrian connection to the Honda Center, providing dappled shade with a colorful garden beneath as a setting for building and parking access.
John Wayne Airport
SWA served as landscape architects at the new airport terminal located in urban Orange County. Landscape improvements, totaling 20 acres, consisted of a large open area adjacent to the terminal, and narrow planting areas framing the site. The particular challenge was to create an appropriate image and scale for a civic project of enormous scale, including park...
Downtown Jebel Ali Landscape Master Plan, UAE
Downtown Jebel Ali is a new development located 35 kilometers southwest of Dubai, along an 11 km stretch of Sheikh Zayed Road. Representing the first phase of a major mixed-use development on the outskirts of Dubai, the project includes two high-rise office buildings and two high-rise apartment buildings with access to Sheik Zayed Road. Mixed-use buildings and...
Chengdu Future Science and Technology City
A key inland alternative to China’s coastal tech centers, Chengdu has emerged as a major science, technology, and manufacturing hub. As part of an international design competition for the city’s Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone organized by a local investment group and the planning bureau, the Chengdu Future Science and Technology City is an achievabl...
Guangzhou Axis District Planning
The Guangzhou Green Axis District Urban Design paved the way for new growth in one of China’s major metropolitan areas by bringing nature into the city, connecting people to the river and CBD, and providing a major park and open space for all ages. In the early 2000s, when the project commenced, Guangzhou was a rapidly growing city of approximately 8 million. ...