Located at the Western base of Baiyun Mountain, this mixed-use center captures the landmark peak’s influence on the site. In contrast to a modern architectural facade, the fluid and organic landscape suggests the erosion of the preexisting baserock by the adjacent creek. Stone is the main landscape material, and CNC technology is used to accomplish the organic shape. An 18-meter droplet sculpture and undulating ripple surface reflect the transparent swimming pool that cantilevers out from the 100-meter above-ground roof garden.
The existing grade difference between the adjacent park and the site allow the west dining area to perch overlooking the park. Special concrete technology has been introduced for the site’s sculptures, bridges, and furniture to highlight the client’s specialty in decorative concrete.
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” ...
Downtown Summerlin
Downtown Summerlin is a 109-acre, high-end retail and entertainment lifestyle center forming the heart of a 22,500-acre master-planned community in the western suburbs of Las Vegas. The landscape design emphasizes the need for comfort and shade while drawing upon the natural desert environment as a visual source for materials, colors, and textures. By distilli...
Avenida Houston
SWA and the architect’s narrative of nature and industry united underscores the design of the new 140,000-square-foot (3-1/2 acre) Avenida Houston plaza, adjacent to the freshly renovated George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston. Key to the theme of nature as it plays out in this new events space is the famous central flyway that offers hundreds o...
Pearl River Tower
Pearl River’s 70-story tower reaches a maximum height of 309.4 meters and is an exemplar of self-sustaining, high-performance, environmentally intelligent architecture. The project’s landscape design reinforces the principles of sustainability and zero-energy usage accomplished by the building’s siting, architecture, and engineering. It creates a v...