Exxon’s Corporate Headquarters is situated on 200 acres of rolling mesquite woodland in Texas’ Las Colinas Development. The design captures the essence of a subtle Texas landscape by careful selection of native plants and preservation of existing woodland and wetland areas. The building itself is surrounded by a more “domestic” landscape within a forest of old, gnarled mesquite trees, which required special care to avoid damage by over-irrigation.
The SWA design created transitions between the two landscapes through careful site design and low-maintenance planting based on native plant communities. Visitors enter the site via a 2,000-foot road that winds up from a wetland in the lower reaches of the property to the mesquite forest. Planting schemes along the road emphasize three different landscapes: at the wetlands, 20,000 Louisiana irises and masses of native palmetto provide a trunkless ground cover; in the intermediate zone, swathes of red yucca, a Texan evergreen with a four-foot spike of long-blooming coral flowers predominate; and in the final approach, sumac lends its distinctive autumn color. The design stitches natural and manicured landscapes together with subtle rings composed of large sweeps of eight different grasses, each chosen for the specific site conditions. Over time, extensive reforestation has further strengthened this landscape.
DNP Office Towers
SWA provided landscape architectural services for a new office tower including the arrival plaza, west and north gardens and upper on-structure view terraces at the 8th and 9th floors. The goal of the design was to broaden and strengthen a designated green spine through an urban redevelopment zone and to create a landscape-dominated environment in a dense urba...
Xingfa Cement Plant Renovation
Located next to a reclaimed quarry park, Xingfa Cement Plant is a former factory transformed into a national advanced science research facility, contributing to the establishment of Huairou Science City. The team of landscape architects and architects worked in close...
East Evelyn Avenue
301-381 East Evelyn Avenue is home to a uniquely preserved architectural example of 1980s office park design. The aim of this project is to retrofit this suburban office campus into a diverse, connected, and urban environment. SWA approached the site from the same perspective as that taken for successful urban neighborhoods. A hierarchy of outdoor realms organ...
Tian’An Cyber Park
Established in 1990, Tian’An Cyber Park is the biggest industrial real estate investment company in China, providing flexible and affordable office space that allows hundreds of entrepreneurs to grow and thrive. The strategically placed park in Longgang is a multi-functional development with retail and office space, an I-MAX cinema, and headquarters for multip...