SWA provided full landscape architectural services for the development of a neo-traditional town center near downtown San Jose. The client’s vision called for a variety of design styles to create a town center with an impression of growth over time. This theme is expressed in building elevations as well as landscape design. The restaurants and boutique retail stores on the main street are topped with the apartments, condominiums, lofts and the boutique hotel. The streets themselves have a “European” flavor. The 40-acre site contains 680,000 square feet of retail space including a shop/boutique-lined main street, 1,200 residences, 200 luxury hotel rooms, 15 to 20 restaurants, and entertainment facilities in a setting of landscaped parks, plazas and streetscapes. The project included completely upgrading the infrastructure of the area, transportation circuits, parking, access to I-280 and I-880; and wireless Internet access throughout.
Promenade on Forest
Opened in June 2020, the Promenade on Forest transformed one of downtown Laguna Beach’s primary streets into a pedestrian-only promenade for the summer. The effort converted a three-block section of the road from a one-way vehicular corridor with angled parking stalls into a car-free zone with cafe seating, work from local artists, and retail display areas. Th...
Uptown Commons
SWA was tasked with creating a neighborhood gathering space and exterior dining hall that is an exercise in contradictions — open and welcoming, while able to be walled off. By blending urban planning, landscape architecture, interior design, and architecture with an understanding of retail real estate, the team was able to quickly establish development yields...
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...
The Landscapes of Wuhai
The Inner Mongolian city of Wuhai is transforming from focusing on coal mining as its main industry to tourism. This very special place has many different, striking landscape types located within just 1666 sq. kilometers: sand dunes, mountains, and wetlands, plus adjacency to the Yellow River. Consequently, the city has decided to boost its tourism. Already pl...