SWA directed conceptual studies for incorporating a landmark residential estate, a multi-family housing complex and a creek corridor into the adjacent Arkansas River waterfront of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Recently acquired by a local community foundation, the total 64-acre area features sweeping lawns and a historic home that provides much-needed space for the city’s popular River Parks system.
The design concepts explore options for realigning, submerging, and bridging over Riverside Drive in order to connect adjacent neighborhoods to trails and open space along the river, including the recently constructed and SWA-designed 41st Street Plaza and refurbished trails.
Waterside activities will include a whitewater-kayaking venue, launching for other small boats, and pedestrian plazas. A children’s discovery museum will create a regional attraction within the estate area, with pavilions clustered within the wooded perimeter to maintain the signature open lawn area. Existing multi-family housing will be intensified, with recommendations for additional property acquisition to extend trail connections to other city neighborhoods and destinations.
Hill at Sims
Set along Sims Bayou in Sunnyside, one of Houston’s oldest historically Black communities, Hill at Sims transforms a 106-acre stormwater detention basin into a regional park that pairs flood protection with public access, ecological restoration, and everyday recreation. Built around a four-story mound of earth created during the basin’s excavation in 2005, the...
Hunter's Point South Waterfront Park
Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park was envisioned as an international model of urban ecology and a world laboratory for innovative sustainable thinking. The project is a collaboration between Thomas Balsley Associates and WEISS/MANFREDI for the open space and park design with ARUP as the prime consultant and infrastructure designer.
What was once a ba...
Tuscany Meadows Park
This neighborhood park renovation was a collaborative effort with the city and neighborhood to create a welcoming space. The new vision sought to make the site more universally accessible and attractive for multi-generational community members. Four new “play rooms” include an outdoor fitness facility, sensory play zones, a n...
Peanut Plaza
Reclaiming private land for public use, one of Washington D.C.’s most dangerous intersections has been targeted for vast improvements. The project kicked off with the demolition of a Wendy’s restaurant on site and implemented new road alignments to ease traffic congestion. SWA worked with NoMa community groups and the Department of Transportation on the new vi...