Next C Water City is a new, fully self-contained sustainable city planned for 500,000 residents. Water was central to the Next C planning concept, supplied by two adjacent rivers and monsoon rains. The city is a system of wetlands, rivers, lakes, and canals, cleansing the water from up-river communities and managing floods during the monsoon season. Working with SOM’s urban design team, Thomas Balsley Associates strategized an open space plan that consisted of seven primary landscape typologies: Central Parks, Civic Squares, Urban Promenades, Water Edge Parks, Canal Parks, Neighborhood Parks, and Wetland Parks filtering and polishing poor quality water from the Chaobai River prior to discharging into the new city’s extensive waterways and eventually into the Yongding River. Each open space typology collectively provides green links throughout the city, and open space programming relates directly to adjacent land uses. Parks along waterways were designed with each season’s environmental extremes in mind, from dry to flooded, creating unique parks for every season.
Esencia
Esencia, a planned community in Rancho Mission Viejo, California, emphasizes health and well-being. This premium real estate development, which is integrated into a 17,000-acre open space preserve characterized by oak canyons, creeks and orchards, envisions wellness holistically. It offers residents extraordinary views, comprehensive access to nature, and a ra...
Amber Bay
The Amber Bay residential development is located on a beautiful rocky promontory that is among the last available parcels along the Dalian shoreline, southeast of the city center. The project features high-end low density modern style residential development including single family villas, townhouses, and low-rise condominiums; shops and seafood restaurants on...
The Sovereign at Regent Square
The Sovereign at Regent Square is a multi-family apartment building located within the first phase of the mixed-use Regent Square development along Buffalo Bayou in Houston, Texas. The project features an amenity deck with pool, offering framed views to Houston’s skyline and a panoramic view of the city. Outdoor living spaces surround a formal pool shaded by a...
Mountain House
SWA provided comprehensive master planning services for a new 4,700-acre community located near the foothills of California’s San Joaquin Valley. Envisioned as a sustainable, “smart growth” town located on less productive agricultural land, the community is designed to provide an internal balance of jobs and housing to mitigate traffic impacts. Working for the...