Poly International Plaza is an innovative office, retail, and exhibition center development located in the Guangzhou trade district. Sited along the Pearl River and adjacent to historic Pazhou Temple Park, the project presents a precedent toward integrating development with its site and context, embracing the place of garden and sustainability in the society’s rapid move toward modernization. The site plan forms a series of gardens and plazas. A major North-South promenade along the west boundary provides connections to an offsite hotel development and convention hall and a diagonal spatial arrangement enhances visual connections to the Pagoda Park south of the site and the Pearl River north of the site. The complete design seeks to integrate the southern Chinese landscape traditions with a modern sensitivity toward local context, climate, flora and SOM’s modern architecture. Tall, continuous tree canopies in combination with water features help to moderate the climate in providing shade and capturing cooling breezes for exterior spaces.
Roche Diagnostics
As the first manufacturing facility in Asia, Roche Diagnostics hopes to set a model for future projects in the region. Located in Suzhou, a city with a strong tradition of gardening, this flagship factory will not only meet Roche’s global standard, but will be infused with the spirit of the city’s gardens, distinguishing it from a stereotypical factory. A clea...
CSCEC Steel Headquarters Office and Museum
CSCEC Steel is a division of the world’s largest construction company, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited. CSCEC Steel is recognized as a leading global steel structure manufacturer; their projects include the CCTV Headquarters in Beijing, the Shanghai IFC, the new Abu Dhabi International Airport, and the 26th Universiade Main Stadium. To...
Akasaka K Tower
This urban redevelopment project is on the site of the former headquarters of Kajima Construction Corporation. Mid-rise twin towers were replaced with 150-meter-tall high-rise with office space and high-end apartments on the upper floors. SWA designed an entry plaza for the building, while providing much-needed green space in this dense neighborhood in the mid...
Grand Central Creative Campus
SWA provided landscape design services for the redevelopment of existing corporate offices at the Grand Central Creative Campus, a center for innovation and creativity on 10.5 acres of mixed office, amenity, parking, and outdoor space. The design is organized around a strong central pedestrian spine that frames the Verdugo mountains to the east; connects peopl...