The Camellias Garden is inspired by the verdant green gardens of India and the petals of one of Asia’s most beautiful and vibrant native plant species: the camellia flower. These blooms’ flowing curves and lines are interpreted within the Garden’s design, drawing residents of these 16 luxury apartment towers out into the landscape and offering the sense of being enveloped by petals.
The design offers a unique view from each of the site’s primary features: the Pond, the Centering Garden, and the Colonnade. Each of these spaces provides a different respective function – the experience of lush plants and water; a space for quiet contemplation; and a place for gathering and socializing. Taken as a whole, the Camellias Garden is a centering, green respite for its residents’ everyday life.
The Camellias was honored with an International Architecture Award from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design in 2022.
Sonoma Residence
Set amidst a coastal oak grove in Sonoma, this modern residence provides a peaceful retreat for a family and their growing children. Selected for its trees and pond, the site offers a rural escape where the owners can connect with nature. SWA’s design integrates oak grassland, chaparral, and riparian planting over a clean, minimal hardscape. Native meadow gras...
Zakin Residence
SWA worked closely with the client and architect in siting the house to maximize views and preserve opportunities in which to develop the landscape. The varied program for the landscape included a small family vineyard, a multi-use field, flower gardens, fountains, terraces, a koi pond, swimming pool and spa, tennis courts, courtyards, a heli-pad and guest par...
Larkspur Courts
SWA was hired to help reclaim an abandoned quarry into an attractive residential village. The program called for 256du on 12.5 net acres, a density of 2.5 du/acre. The City of Larkspur required that 97 of the total units be family units. They defined family units as residences with two or more bedrooms and located not more than one level above grade. The City ...
Kingold Century Centre
This new mixed-use development features a complex program that includes a hotel, rental space for other companies, eateries, service apartments, and retail facilities. SWA’s design challenge was to create a common space that can be enjoyed by the disparate users on-site at any given time. A common plaza includes multiple restaurants on a terraced platform that...