Chase Center, the new Golden State Warriors’ arena, anchors and enlivens San Francisco’s emerging Sports and Entertainment District. Integrated along a transit corridor within a formerly industrial part of the city, this new 24/7 facility offers a venue for events of many scales as well as a central public open space that doubles as the neighborhood’s outdoor living room.
To create an inviting destination, landscape designers at SWA created a series of plazas that are at once distinctive and flexible. These public outdoor spaces are tucked and wrapped around the arena building at varying levels, offering discrete nooks or view platforms of different sizes and perspectives. A large, publicly accessible central plaza comfortably accommodates crowds during large events, and can be configured to meet different programmatic needs. Custom-designed planters/seating modules can be deployed throughout to frame different events or uses, such as ice skating, farmers’ markets, an instant micro-garden, or a car show, and can also aid pedestrian flow during large events at the arena.
Whether they have game tickets or not, visitors are invited to stroll up a grand staircase to take in spectacular views of the Bay, enjoy a picnic lunch, visit the retail and dining outlets, or meet friends for a movie alfresco.
Landscape design unifies and supports those activities with an environment that is strategic and sensible, attractive and sustainable. In fulfilling San Francisco’s strict codes for water runoff, designers created a special terraced garden along 3rd Street that defines both defines the new space and reveals the bio-filtration process by which plants help to cleanse all water on site. Native California planting throughout the ten-acre parcel of land conserves water, provides a shade canopy, and unifies the area’s character.
Zifeng Tower Nanjing
Nanjing Greenland International Commercial Center is an urban high-rise project containing two major sites, A1 and A2. The 450-meter main tower, Zifeng Tower, with its concentric rings of mixed trees and linear water features, is the focus of the A1 site. The landscape design encompasses existing parks as well as the adjacent historic features in o...
Landmark II Tower Park
The west side of Los Angeles has always been a desirable destination for businesses, visitors, and residents: easily reached by vehicular and public transportation, and with access to the Pacific Ocean. Community clusters have formed within this area, establishing the need for respite within the hustle and bustle of the heavily trafficked Wilshire Boulevard co...
Nangang Trainyard Urban Regeneration Landscape
This urban regeneration plan transforms a long-abandoned trainyard site into a highly mixed-used development with retail, commercial, preschool, and public services on the podium floors. One hotel, four office, and three residential towers sit atop of the podium; and the southeast corner is occupied by a standalone administration headquarters for the Tai...
Great Park
One of the world’s largest municipal parks, the 1,300-acre Great Park in Irvine, California, is currently under construction with phased openings continuing through 2029. The conceptual framework encompasses redesign and implementation of near- and longer-term uses, with the intent to “put the park back into the park.” The vast site, which was once the Marine ...