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 planned is a lake flowing through the site, to be built off of the current Yellow River; but within 10 years it will have already lost 2/3 of its volume. SWA Group was hired to help design Wuhai’s marina on the new lake and also to help guide the city in its tourism plan.
San Diego Embarcadero
The redevelopment plan for the waterfront and port facilities adjacent to downtown San Diego included translating community and economic requirements into a specific planning program. Emphasis was placed on urban design, circulation and parking, landscaping, environmental planning, and engineering considerations with a set of comprehensive implementation guide...
Hennepin Avenue
Hennepin Avenue is the oldest street in Downtown Minneapolis, and has gone through multiple transformations over time. The street is undergoing a major reconstruction, and SWA is leading the effort to enhance the character of Hennepin for years to come. The conceptual approach was developed through a robust public engagement process, and touches on the three m...
East Blocks
50 years in the making, East Blocks envisions a new mixed-use neighborhood spanning 10 blocks of EaDo near Downtown Houston—building. Located within an already diverse, eclectic, and walkable arts and entertainment district, the design celebrates the neighborhood’s history as an industrial hub.
East Blocks will be developed in a multiphase process over ...
Qatar Public Realm
SWA’s set of illustrative Design Guidelines promotes a public realm that is a relaxed manifestation of the Qatari vernacular landscape, and serve to maintain the locale’s cultural integrity. Unique among the fast-growing areas of the Gulf region, Doha’s landscape reflects a balance of cultural imp...