As cities consider the future of their streets in light of pandemic-inspired innovations and federal infrastructure investment, placemaking solutions can help communities achieve more value from public rights-of-way.
In Culver City, California, landscape design born of public and private sector collaboration has resulted in a lively and accessible outdoor space, where creative paving enables streets to double as public plazas and terraced performance space.
The Steps are framed on one side by Culver Studios (where productions like “Gone with the Wind” and “Arrested Development” were filmed), and on the other by the Culver Hotel (once frequented by John Wayne and Charlie Chaplin). Here, SWA’s scheme of sculpted, stepped terraces for a new private development creates a memorable place for views, shade, respite, and interaction. This distinctive ambience is extended into the public realm with an adjoining plaza at street level, resulting in a continuous, central open space that unifies the surrounding buildings for a unique and programmed civic setting.
This spectacular project gives new meaning to Harry Culver’s renowned axiom, “All roads lead to Culver City.” The forging of this new outdoor commons revitalizes the Culver City’s “maker tradition”: rather than merely celebrating the past, the plaza provides a vital setting for today’s transit, culture, and award-winning restaurants.
In June 2018, The Culver Steps was awarded the Los Angeles Business Council’s Under Construction Award, an honor that was followed in 2019 by a “Best of Design Award” from The Architect’s Newspaper. This signature civic destination has already attracted high-profile tenants, including Amazon Studios, and promises to promote diversity and interaction for locals and visitors while establishing a strong identity for Culver City’s downtown.
Williams Square
For decades, Williams Square has been the walkable “living room” for Irving, Texas’s Las Colinas community. The plaza’s iconic bronze mustang sculptures, designed by artist Robert Glen, are among the state’s most iconic landscape features, speaking to the state’s identity and history.
SWA’s engagement with the plaza is longstanding, dating back to the 1...
Avenida Houston
SWA and the architect’s narrative of nature and industry united underscores the design of the new 140,000-square-foot (3-1/2 acre) Avenida Houston plaza, adjacent to the freshly renovated George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston. Key to the theme of nature as it plays out in this new events space is the famous central flyway that offers hundreds o...
The Memorial at Harvey Milk Plaza
Harvey Milk Plaza is located in the heart of San Francisco’s Castro Neighborhood, and hosts one of the city’s busiest transit hubs. The plaza has been the site of countless gatherings and protests, including a candlelight vigil the night of Harvey’s untimely death and the White Night riots, which were sparked by the leniency of the sentence handed down to his ...
San Jacinto Plaza
SWA’s redesign of San Jacinto Plaza, a historic gathering place in El Paso’s downtown business district provides a state-of-the-art urban open space, while protecting and celebrating the history and culture of the site. The project was the result of an intensive community process involving input from a wide range of constituents. Active programming, environmen...