Originally built in the 1970s, Polliwog Park is a high-use neighborhood amenity that provides active recreation and play facilities to local families. The original playground was replaced in 2003 but required a full update in 2020 to account for routine flooding. SWA’s design allows the park to remain an active community feature year-round.
In addition to a pond, botanical garden, and dog park, Polliwog Park is known for its sunken galleon playground. The revitalized area includes ADA-accessible structures, features for all ages, and resilient safety surfacing. A portion of the 12,500-square-foot playground is equipped with shade structures.
Peanut Plaza
Reclaiming private land for public use, one of Washington D.C.’s most dangerous intersections has been targeted for vast improvements. The project kicked off with the demolition of a Wendy’s restaurant on site and implemented new road alignments to ease traffic congestion. SWA worked with NoMa community groups and the Department of Transportation on the new vi...
Resonant Memory: One October Memorial
Inspired by the shared love of country music that brought people from all over the world together for the Route 91 Music Festival, Resonant Memory is based on the shape of an acoustic guitar. The design makes particular use of the instrument’s sound hole as a recurring motif to represent absence, honoring the lives lost on October 1, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada...
OCT Bao’an Waterfront Cultural Park
Bao’an Waterfront Park is an essential amenity for future residents of Shenzhen’s rapidly expanding Qianhai area, and is also an important connection between the urban fabric and the ocean. The key landscape frameworks for the park are its riverine interpretation aspects and water’s edge programs. The “Eco River” will bring water experiences into the green spa...
Haden Park
Tucked into a corner of Houston’s Spring Branch district, Haden Park has been reimagined as a shaded, amenity-rich landscape shaped by over a decade of community input. The transformation of the 12-acre site, long overlooked despite its central location, unifies the fragmented layout into a connected civic space, introducing a forest-themed play area, a dog pa...