The Houston Resilience Hub Network Master Plan aims to mitigate the disproportionate impact of disasters on vulnerable communities by establishing a network of strategically located facilities. These hubs offer vital resources and support during routine operations, emergencies, and recovery phases.
The network comprises four interconnected components: Hubs (primary facilities and coordination centers), Super Spots (large-scale community resource centers), Spots (neighborhood-level services), and Spokes (infrastructure connecting these facilities). This system functions year-round across three phases: steady-state periods for community building and preparedness, disaster response for emergency coordination, and recovery for long-term rebuilding efforts.
With climate-resilient design and a focus on education and training, the plan strengthens community resilience, particularly in marginalized areas, serving as a national model for disaster preparedness and recovery.
Sonoma State Weill Lawn & Commons
Weill Lawn and Commons provide outdoor performance venues at Green Music Center, a world-class performing arts complex. The landscape architects prepared overall master planning and landscape architectural design. A simple, dramatic grading plan unifies project elements, directs circulation, and buffers concert venues from adjacent roadway traffic. Weill Lawn...
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...
South Waterfront Greenway
A bold new plan for the area along the Willamette River includes a 1-1/2 mile extension of the City’s downtown’s parks and the reclamation of the river’s edge for public recreation. Working closely with the City of Portland, developers, and natural resource advocates, the design team devised a rational plan that places access and activity in targeted nodes wit...
NOAH Ethnographic Village
Armenia has set an initiative to increase global tourism and develop a site within its capital city with majestic views of Mount Ararat, where Noah’s Ark is purported to have landed. SWA developed a strategic plan based on several principles derived from the existing context of the site: first, to capitalize its proximity to important landmarks that allow for ...