SWA was awarded 2nd place in the 2016 Olympic Park Competition in Rio de Janeiro for their master plan and landscape architecture proposal. The Olympics will be located on a 118-hectare site in the neighborhood of Barra da Tijuca. The underlying concept of ‘Embrace’ weaves through the design in a grand planning gesture, which both defines the Olympic Games and provides a lasting identity for the City of Rio de Janeiro. More specifically, the plan encompasses the ideas of ‘Games’, ‘Transition’, and ‘Legacy’ as an integrated plan that grows and matures over time, and is guided by strategies of urban design, sustainability and accessibility. The Olympic infrastructure, designed for both the present and the future, creates an exuberant Games experience which easily adapts and transitions into a sustainable urban community. The site is woven together by public space, and includes an innovative greenway system, restored wetland habitat, and urban park intended to serve the city for generations to come.
South Waterfront Greenway
A bold new plan for the area along the Willamette River includes a 1-1/2 mile extension of the City’s downtown’s parks and the reclamation of the river’s edge for public recreation. Working closely with the City of Portland, developers, and natural resource advocates, the design team devised a rational plan that places access and activity in targeted nodes wit...
St. Louis Ballpark Village District Landscape Master Plan
Downtown St. Louis is currently undergoing an urban renaissance: seeking to enrich experience of place and to attract a growing population of urban residents, employeers, and tourists. SWA/Balsley was engaged for district-wide landscape services for a new urban redevelopment, Ball Park Village, located directly across the street from Busch Stadium, home of the...
Fuyang Riverfront
Seizing the area’s reputation for “one of the best mountain and water views in the world,” the natural framework along both sides of the Fuchun River inspires this plan integrating urban spaces with landscape to create a harmonious skyline. Fuyang flourishes with economic prosperity while honoring its vibrant cultural heritage.
The scope includes urban d...
SIPG Harbor City Parks
This new riverfront development is located on the Yangtze River in the Baoshan District of Shanghai. This area boasts some of the highest shipping activity in the world. However, in recent years this single-function industrial zone has given way, allowing for waterfront parks to develop. Within this historically layered water front the Baoshan Park and Open Sp...