50 years in the making, East Blocks envisions a new mixed-use neighborhood spanning 10 blocks of EaDo near Downtown Houston—building. Located within an already diverse, eclectic, and walkable arts and entertainment district, the design celebrates the neighborhood’s history as an industrial hub.
East Blocks will be developed in a multiphase process over several years, beginning with a first phase of nearly half a million square feet, including a series of interconnected green spaces, retail and restaurant space, flexible office space, and more. Its first tenants include the existing 8th Wonder Brewery and Pitch 25.
Together with Gensler, SWA’s Houston studio has been working with the client and consultant team since 2022, developing an overarching landscape strategy for East Blocks that draws inspiration from the neighborhood’s industrial character, weaving together repurposed infrastructure and a native planting palette into a contemporary public landscape that feels authentically EaDo.
The existing promenade will be transformed into a flexibly programmed civic space that can accommodate picnics, farmer’s markets, fitness classes, children’s events, and more. The design improves district-wide mobility, bridging into bike and pedestrian paths that run from EaDo throughout the East End District.
Shekou Promenade
A gateway for China’s open-door policy, Shekou has revitalized its fragmented and hazardous coastline into a dynamic six-kilometer promenade that masterfully captures the area’s cultural and natural essence.
The promenade repurposes the disconnected former industrial waterfront into a celebrated open space system with new recreation programs...
Shunde New City
The Pearl River Delta is the second largest bird migration delta and estuary in Southeast Asia. Preserving and restoring bird and wildlife corridors while also providing regional connectivity, transportation, and development options is at the pinnacle of today’s development challenges. In the Shunde New City Plan, urban development and nature are integra...
Hangzhou Grand Canal
For centuries, the Beijing-Hangzhou’s Grand Canal – a staggering 1,000 linear miles which remain the world’s longest man-made waterway – was a lifeline for commerce and communication. The water’s edge was necessary for trade, a logical place to live, and often a driver of innovation. However, as with many waterfronts globally, it eventually fell victim to the...
Shunde Guipan River Waterfront
SWA participated in a competition reimagining 19-kilometers of the Guipan River waterfront in Shunde, China. While the Pearl River Delta is one of the fastest growing regions of Southern China, one of the many casualties of this growth was the delta itself. Presently, Shunde has a growing flooding problem enhanced by channelizing, condensing, and containing th...