SWA participated in a competition reimagining 19-kilometers of the Guipan River waterfront in Shunde, China. While the Pearl River Delta is one of the fastest growing regions of Southern China, one of the many casualties of this growth was the delta itself. Presently, Shunde has a growing flooding problem enhanced by channelizing, condensing, and containing the river system. What was once a healthy delta with countless braided river ecologies has now been constrained into 3 river systems. SWA’s design for the Guipan waterfront reflects the local Linnan waterway and “mulberry-and-fish-pond” agricultural system as the typology of new wetlands and park spaces, expressed as a series of wetland filtration ponds. The larger setting for the waterfront park is the 72-square-kilometer master plan previously developed by SWA and focuses on five unique zones: Urban Park, Wildlife Park, Recreation Park, Office Park, and Wetland Park. The concept focuses on restoring the constructed wetlands as the armature for a multimodal city while restoring the wildlife habitats for the larger Pearl River Delta. The plan develops individual islands as pedestrian-scaled mixed-use villages that are linked by a proposed environmental infrastructure of greenbelts, water corridors, rail, trails and a multilayered transportation system. In order to maximize edge surface area and increase opportunities for exchange, the 19-kilometer Guipan River project proposes a braided system of fine-grained waterways to increase filtering capacity and reconnect the new planned City of Shunde to the river. SWA’s design for the site maximizes the social and economic value of the river by emphasizing and expanding its inherent qualities of place, ultimately creating a comprehensive and connected waterfront to rehabilitate and reestablish the Pearl River Delta as a healthy ecological landscape.
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...
Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park
Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park has been heralded as Tampa’s missing “here” and the crown jewel in the city’s Riverwalk, a bold urban plan conceived to reactivate the Hillsboro River and downtown Tampa. The master plan sets the park as the district’s focal point, positioning the Riverwalk, museums, and park buildings to the park and the waterfront. The plan...
Lewis Avenue
In a city renowned for fantasy, the design of Las Vegas’ Lewis Avenue celebrates the local desert landscape and affirms the street as part of a real-world working district. It was one of the first projects to be implemented in Mayor Oscar B. Goodman’s 2000 Las Vegas Downtown Centennial Plan, aimed at revitalizing the historic downtown core. The City asked SWA,...
St Johns Riverfront Design Incentive Strategy
As part of a larger effort to establish its downtown as a center for business and culture during a period of unprecedented growth, the City of Jacksonville was in need of a design and investment strategy for its underused waterfront along both banks of the St. Johns River. The design team’s approach entails both a large-scale and a node-based strategy, identif...