Identified by the City as one of its “Big Five” open space projects, the conceptual master plan for Nelson Mandela Park will create a much-needed central open space for the city’s south district, an industrial area along the waterfront that is home to a growing and increasingly diverse population. Here the city seeks to transcend its current park paradigm of landscape art and environmental performance to also embrace a multi-cultural milieu. An active community engagement process will inform the design of the new park, resulting in a place that is attractive and responsive to its heterogeneous stakeholders, and that will provide a catalyst for future development in this urban district.
Inspired by the natural hydrology and tidal vegetation systems of the river, park celebrates the maritime heritage of Rotterdam, while harnessing the coast for the benefit of the future. The community- and ecology-driven approach give the park a unique identity within Rotterdam’s park system and waterfront.
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...
Milton Street Park
Milton Street Park is a 1.2-acre linear urban park alongside the Ballona Creek Bike Trail in Los Angeles, California. The plan incorporates numerous green-design elements, including the use of recycled materials, native planting, flow-through planters and treatment alongside the 1,000-foot-long, 45-foot-wide stretch of land. A variety of special elements such...
Thousand Lantern Lake Park System
Nanhai Citizen’s Plaza and Thousand Lantern Lake Park exemplifies the exciting and innovative opportunities for master planning and urban design in new international communities. The site is located in the newly established city of Nanhai, and consists of a commercial precinct, public parks, and civic buildings arranged around a series of lakes and waterways. ...
Bend of the River Botanic Garden
The Bend of the River Botanic Garden Master Plan reimagines an 88-acre site in Temple, Texas, into a regional attraction. Situated at the intersection of I-35 and the Leon River, the site comprises two donated parcels, consolidated to serve Temple’s growing population of over 96,000.
SWA led a comprehensive public engagement process, facilitating conver...