“The cultural significance of the park—stretching over Interstate 35E, reconnecting neighborhoods in Oak Cliff that had been physically and economically separated for decades—cannot be overstated. This park has the potential to change Dallas for the better … Halperin Park represents Dallas at its best.”
– Dallas Morning News Editorial Board
In the 1950s, I-35E was routed through the South Dallas community of Oak Cliff, demolishing a thriving Black commercial corridor and one of the first Freedmen’s towns established after the Civil War. In the decades that followed, as in so many cities across the U.S., freeway construction severed long-standing social and economic ties and set in motion decades of disinvestment.
Halperin Park, opened in 2026 after nearly a decade of advocacy and engagement, begins to repair the divide, spanning the highway between Ewing and Marsalis Avenues and restoring a walkable connection along the original path of 12th Street. Designed by SWA and HKS, the park translates Oak Cliff’s cultural and environmental history into built form, with sculptural landforms recalling the limestone and shale geology beneath the neighborhood, shaping subtle grade changes that guide movement and frame views toward the downtown skyline.
Across the deck, a sequence of public spaces includes a walkable promenade and Oak Cliff Walk of Fame along the original path of 12th Street, mass-timber bandshell and multipurpose pavilion, flexible great lawn, treehouse-inspired playground, perennial gardens, shaded seating, and two water features that extend comfort through North Texas summers. Opened amid a nationwide reckoning with the damage caused by midcentury highway construction, Halperin Park is rooted in Oak Cliff history while joining a broader effort to reclaim freeway infrastructure as public ground.
Dubai Hills Boulevard and Public Realm
Envisioned as a garden oasis strategically situated where city meets desert, Dubai Hills will be a vibrant yet elegant mixed-use community for 21st-century living. The key public realm element of this massive 1,000-hectare development is a 5.6-kilometer urban boulevard lined with shops, residences, and offices along the district’s central spine. SWA/Balsley de...
Xingfa Quarry Park
Just north of Beijing, between the Great Wall and Yanqi Lake, the Xingfa Cement Plant once fueled China’s construction boom, operating for over two decades before its 2015 closure under the National Air Quality Action Plan. Today, an adjacent quarry that once provided raw materials has been remediated as a 107.5-hectare terraced park that anchors an accompanyi...
Katy Trail
Katy Trail represents a remarkable resource for the residents of the Dallas Fort Worth region. This project enlivens and makes accessible right-of-way established by the storied, but later abandoned, Missouri-Kansas-Texas (better known as the “Katy”) line, and serves as a unifying element for the surrounding neighborhoods. Katy Trail provides appro...
Embankment Square
The Embankment Square is located along the east bank of the Huangpu River in Shanghai. The project consists of landscape areas in three office parcels and one waterfront park parcel. The view of the site is remarkable, looking toward the landmark skyscrapers of Lujiazui Financial Center, Nanpu Bridge, the Bund, and the Minsheng CBD.
The design concept c...