SWA provided planning and design services for the 3.3km long, 250-acre metropolitan Ningbo Eco-Corridor, which transforms a former agricultural plain that had been taken over by industrial use into urban green infrastructure. Located in the heart of the Yangtze River Delta on China’s coastline, Ningbo is one of China’s oldest cities, with an area of 3,616 square miles and a population of 5.43 million. Ningbo, which translates to “tranquil waters,” has been a well-known key port for foreign trade since ancient times. The development of this area inspired a strategy to establish Ningbo as a larger metropolitan area of economic and environmental importance and has set the stage for an ecological approach to the re-development of the city. Acting as a living filter, the design utilizes ecological strategies of hydrology, vegetation and topography, providing recreational, educational and cultural facilities for the Ningbo Eastern New City. Each area of development exemplifies a sustainable ecological approach by treating and recycling surface run-off water, harvesting solar energy, and reducing the urban heat-island effect. SWA additionally implemented a sustainable hydrological design that allows water to be filtered and aerated effectively and retained for aquifer recharge. The design seeks to offer a link between humans and their environment, fostering a community relationship to water and opportunities for environmental and ecological education. By linking together the ecological network in this region, the Ningbo Eco-Corridor enhances public health, quality of life, and property values of local and neighboring communities, and encourages other cities in the region to support ecological components in their respective developments.
Long Beach Shoreline
SWA prepared a land use and urban design plan for six miles of waterfront adjacent to downtown Long Beach. Through a series of meetings with local community stakeholders, we were able to determine the different needs of each district in the plan: of critical importance was the need to preserve valuable open space inland, and to maintain an ecological corridor ...
Xingfa Cement Plant Quarry Park Masterplan
Beijing Xingfa Cement Plant Quarry, founded in early 1990s, an exposed scar of rocks locates between the Great Wall and Yanqi Lake, is being reconsidered into an ecological and picturesque rural park in relationship with the adjacent regenerating cement plant. Established around the contextural culture, research, and technology oriented position, the design fo...
Houston Green Loop
With the coming expansion and realignment of the highways around Downtown Houston, SWA identified the opportunity to enact a bold vision: a multi-use branded connectivity system that will leverage the immense reconstruction investment. SWA’s concept creates a continuous pedestrian loop over, under, and around the downtown highway system, thus redirecting the u...
Guiyang Hot Springs
Guiyang Hot Springs, located in Guiyang City, China, brings together the rhythm of the Nanming River, and surrounding trails and trees to create a new urban ‘living room’ in the interstitial space created by new development and roadway infrastructure. Nestled into a mountainous site, the master planning addressed elevation changes of up to 100 meters and the e...