Perched on the edge of San Francisco Bay, the Hunters Point Shipyard was an important naval manufacturing center for the WWI and WWII war efforts. The abandoned shipyard and Candlestick Point were combined into a new, mixed-use residential, retail and light industry development—the largest in San Francisco since WWII. Thomas Balsley Associates collaborated with urban planners IBI Group in developing an innovative urban plan whose parks and open spaces exploit the site’s extraordinarily diverse waterfront and views as well as its rich maritime heritage. The plan combines the proposed Forty-Niners football stadium within the new mixed-use community with a sustainable system of smart streets, bikeways and diverse parks, including California’s first urban state park, redesigned to function as the front lawn to San Francisco’s Bayview and Hunters Point Community. A lively network of neighborhood parks, plazas, linear boulevard parks, roof deck recreation areas, and a continuous waterfront park trail and bikeway system knits the spaces together and connects the upland community to its new shipyard neighbors and the extraordinary bay environment. The state park’s grassland and natural shoreline has been retooled into a landscape of the highest standards of environmental and social sustainability.
RIT Global Village and Global Plaza
Global Village, a pedestrian-only infill neighborhood adjacent to Rochester Institute of Technology’s academic core, and its mixed-use centerpiece, Global Plaza, create a social heart for 17,200 students and 3,600 faculty and staff. The landscape architects and architects collaborated on an urban design that establishes multiple “crossroads” ...
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...
Nangang Trainyard Urban Regeneration Landscape
This urban regeneration plan transforms a long-abandoned trainyard site into a highly mixed-used development with retail, commercial, preschool, and public services on the podium floors. One hotel, four office, and three residential towers sit atop of the podium; and the southeast corner is occupied by a standalone administration headquarters for the Tai...
3Roots
A transformed mining site in Mira Mesa, 3Roots captures San Diego’s innovative spirit, drive, and natural beauty. SWA’s work began with the master plan, including 1,800 new homes, 160,000 square feet of commercial, retail, and office spaces, a five-acre mobility hub, and over 250 acres of parks and open space. The landscape blends the region’s mining her...