Facing arduous competition to attract and retain top employee talent, companies are distinguishing themselves through the design of their workplaces. SWA worked with the client to reimagine and reinvigorate an outdated campus into a stimulating and rewarding work environment with quality amenities. To undertake the challenge of this campus transformation, the team created a master plan initiative. The structure of the master plan was rooted in five “objectives for change”: amenities, connectivity, identity, landscape sustainability, and lighting. The first phase of the master plan implementation included the complete renovation of three courtyard areas. The renovation featured several dynamic elements with a focus on amenities and sustainability. Bocce courts, oversized chess boards, and ping pong terraces offer active opportunities. A large event lawn, seating areas, and open gathering spaces rest underneath preserved existing trees for passive usage and flexibility. The new spaces are enveloped in a native planting palette, featuring sensory perennial gardens and prairie grasses, reducing water usage and creating a stronger sense of place. The early success of the courtyards will act as the catalyst for the transformation of the remaining campus into a place where the experience extends beyond the walls, establishing a relationship between the workplace interior and exterior.
Symantec Chengdu
SWA provided landscape design for Symantec’s research and development complex. The site was previously inactive and banal until SWA’s design reinvigorated the area, linking the building program and connecting the site to the larger city. The landscape design produces a “brocade,” weaving together the building and site program, and offering an oasis amid the de...
Lite-On Headquarters
This major Taiwanese electronics company chose Taipei’s “Electronics Center” overlooking the Gee Long River for their new headquarters. The overall concept is of a 25-story slender tower rising above a sloped landscape podium that covers much of the site. Below-grade parking slopes toward the river on one side, with the urban center on the ot...
Xingfa Cement Plant Renovation
Located next to a reclaimed quarry park, Xingfa Cement Plant is a former factory transformed into a national advanced science research facility, contributing to the establishment of Huairou Science City. The team of landscape architects and architects worked in close...
Shanghai Tower
China’s tallest building, Shanghai Tower, is located in the Lujiazui Financial Center Zone near the Shanghai World Financial Center and Jin-Mao tower. SWA’s landscape design establishes a “Tower Park” to complement the building’s iconic form and function, connect the mixed-use project with its urban neighborhood, and provide a variety of beautiful settin...