“A major victory, if not some kind of civic miracle… Dallas has un-paved a parking lot to put in a paradise — 3.74 acres of it, if you want to be precise.”
– Mark Lamster, architecture critic, Dallas Morning News
The latest step in the renaissance of Downtown Dallas has arrived with Pacific Plaza, a 3.89-acre public park that serves the central business district’s burgeoning population and contributes substantially to the city’s outdoor experience. The first of an ambitious four-park initiative, Pacific Plaza complements adjacent urban greenspace with a varied program designed for intergenerational appeal, nods to local history, and sophisticated, lyrical detail. The design involved the integration of an existing stand of mature Live Oaks (Aston Grove) by way of closure of a bisecting street. The design also elevates a busy corner away from street traffic and noise, orienting users toward a one-acre, multi-purpose central lawn. The park’s 95-by-138-foot pavilion subtly recalls the area’s history with steel panels perforated in Morse Code signatures for every local stop along the Texas and Pacific Railroad between New Orleans and El Paso. “The Thread” (a solid, 611-foot-long seatwall that traverses the entire plaza) unifies the park into a cohesive whole, offering expansive, restorative spaces for residents and visitors alike.
Tianjin Culture Park
In the strategy for the upcoming integration of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province, the city of Tianjin has been identified as an advanced national manufacture and research base, as well as a core area of international shipping, a financial innovation demonstration zone, and a pilot region for the overall reformation of the area. The location of the SWA-desig...
Golden Shoal Riverfront Park
Located along Chongqing’s Jialing River, this new linear public park offered unique challenges: a 30-meter annual river fluctuation, steep topography, and low-impact maintenance of a continuous riparian corridor. Adjacent new urban development, with attendant needs for green space, called for a flexible and resilient approach to the park’s landscape and infras...
Moji Mountain Park Master Plan
Moji Mountain, one of the most distinctive symbols of Yichang, now boasts the city’s largest public open space. The 120-hectare park is located along the banks of the Yangtze River, and has a rich historical connection to both the river and the city. De-forested in the past for agricultural uses, the mountain’s slopes have been replanted and now support a new ...
Terry Hershey Park
The park design includes a one-mile hike and bike trail system, a pedestrian underpass linking the park to an existing trail system, bridges over the creek, and automobile parking. Gabions were used as an environmentally friendly means of slope retention in a floodway and as a tool for creating places for people to enjoy the wooded environment. Sinuous banks a...