The original Stanford campus museum was damaged in an earthquake in 1989. With help from major namesake donors to the museum, significant site improvements, expansion and seismic renovation improvements were accomplished. SWA provided master plan updates and full landscape architectural services including pedestrian pathways; two major terraces for displaying sculpture; a landscaped courtyard; and the renovation and integration of the existing Rodin Sculpture Garden, complete with new center gardens. This reinvestment in a unique university attribute integrates the existing sculpture garden with new building and outdoor elements and connects the Cantor Center with the larger Stanford campus. SWA’s partners on this project were Polshek and Partners Architects, with historic preservation consultation by the Architectural Resources Group; seismic engineering was performed by H.J. Degenkolb Associates.
Scripps College Residence
The landscape design for the new residence hall builds on the Scripps College campus tradition of landscaped courtyards formed by buildings and circulation corridors. In doing so, the design helps to establish a new east-west axis connecting the main campus to future recreation facilities to the east. The project also improves interrelationships and connection...
CSU Long Beach Peterson Hall
CSU Long Beach is in the process of a series of major renovations as its mid-century buildings fall short in terms of capacity and technology. The Peterson Hall project extends the classroom experience to the outdoors, while also adding much-needed sustainability updates to the landscape. Terraced seating of composite wood invites students to lounge while awai...
Soka University
When Japan-based Soka Gakkai International, one of the world’s largest lay Buddhist organizations, decided to establish a fully accredited liberal arts university in southern Orange County, SWA joined with the architects to create a setting that expresses the goals of the new university. Soka means “to create value” and the ideal of Soka education is to foster...
California Academy of Sciences
One of San Francisco’s first sustainable building projects, the California Academy of Sciences supports a stunning 2.5-acre green roof. Emphasizing habitat quality and connectivity, the project has received two LEED Platinum certifications.
The building’s architectural team, the Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW), invited SWA Group and horticultural c...