SWA was selected to conceptualize, design, and realize a rare find in bustling Shanghai—a pedestrian mall (Gold Street). The corridor occupies three city blocks, is flanked by 20-story high-rise residential towers with retail at street level and book-ended by SWA-designed parks. Creating an iconic presence and enlivening the area, the mall features plazas, fountains, cafés, dining and retail terraces, an amphitheater, and a monumental raised, tree-lined terrace.
Centrally located in the densely populated Gubei district, the pedestrian mall offers the public a unique open space and a sanctuary from the hectic city. Gubei Boulevard, a major commercial spine, runs along the site’s western edge. A majestic plaza, featuring large fountains, opens up to grab the street there and forms a buffer between the pedestrian promenade and the busy thoroughfare; the eastern opening is more subdued, befitting that end’s residential street.
The landscape design merges modern elements with some classical French motifs. Tall gingko trees line the retail promenade, creating a visual transition from the surrounding tunnel-like towers to the mall’s intimate gardens. Contrasting with the city’s hard-edged environment are evergreen camphor trees that ensure a welcoming canopy year-round, while deciduous cherry trees provide seasonal interest. Seeking to engage all the senses, the landscape architects also included fragrant plants in their design, such as sweet olive trees with their tiny yellow flowers that exude the scent of ripe peaches and apricots.
The Gubei District houses a growing community of expatriates and their families. The social ecology of this progressive neighborhood was also a major influence on the design. With little indoor-outdoor differentiation, retail, gallery, and restaurant activity flows seamlessly out onto the spacious 30-foot-wide promenade. Graphic paving and custom site furniture contribute to this fluid connection from building to open space.
The notion of the outdoor living room is carried throughout the pedestrian mall. Separated from the retail promenade by a few steps, the central plaza’s abundant benches and shade provides residents with a place to interact as a community. Parents sit and watch their children roller skate while older residents practice tai chi in the smaller garden parks.
With inspired design details—like pavers that fit together like Chinese temple roof tiles and architectural follies sitting like glass jewels in the middle of each block—the landscape architects created a space that is both functional and beautiful. The overall effect is a comfortable human space amid grandiose high-rise towers.
Santa Monica North Beach Trail Improvements
While the beaches of Santa Monica are arguably one of the most iconic landscapes in Southern California, the trails running through them are less well known. Among those is the Marvin Braude Bike Trail, which runs from Mexico to Oregon and is commonly referred to as “The Strand” by locals. In recent years, The Strand bike trail had become congested and dangero...
Portsmouth Square
Portsmouth Square is the heart of San Francisco’s Chinatown: the main civic park for all community festivals and events as well as an important day-to-day outdoor living room for the community. Centered in the densest community in the United States west of the Hudson River, the park plays a critical role in the health and well-being of the local residents, ove...
Griggs Park Redevelopment
Griggs Park, a historically important open space located in Uptown Dallas, had not kept pace with the ever-evolving culture and artistic neighborhood surrounding it. The new design reflects the changes in urban uses for the now-vibrant neighborhood. Established in the 1940s, the park is the first dedicated to an African American in Dallas. It transitioned with...
OCT Bao’an Waterfront Cultural Park
Bao’an Waterfront Park is an essential amenity for future residents of Shenzhen’s rapidly expanding Qianhai area, and is also an important connection between the urban fabric and the ocean. The key landscape frameworks for the park are its riverine interpretation aspects and water’s edge programs. The “Eco River” will bring water experiences into the green spa...