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.
Chengdu Future Science and Technology City
A key inland alternative to China’s coastal tech centers, Chengdu has emerged as a major science, technology, and manufacturing hub. As part of an international design competition for the city’s Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone organized by a local investment group and the planning bureau, the Chengdu Future Science and Technology City is an achievabl...
South Waterfront Greenway
A bold new plan for the area along the Willamette River includes a 1-1/2 mile extension of the City’s downtown’s parks and the reclamation of the river’s edge for public recreation. Working closely with the City of Portland, developers, and natural resource advocates, the design team devised a rational plan that places access and activity in targeted nodes wit...
Guangzhou Axis District Planning
The Guangzhou Green Axis District Urban Design paved the way for new growth in one of China’s major metropolitan areas by bringing nature into the city, connecting people to the river and CBD, and providing a major park and open space for all ages. In the early 2000s, when the project commenced, Guangzhou was a rapidly growing city of approximately 8 million. ...
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...