Located next to a reclaimed quarry park, Xingfa Cement Plant is a former factory transformed into a national advanced science research facility, contributing to the establishment of Huairou Science City. The team of landscape architects and architects worked in close collaboration to preserve valuable cement factory buildings, production structures, existing trees, and dramatic site landforms, and studied local precipitation patterns to absorb drainage and protect the site from heavy summer storms. Proposed programs and buildings were considered under local cultural protection restrictions due to their adjacency to the Great Wall across the valley.
Science and research development history resonates throughout the site, unifying this dynamic research campus with cement production and transportation logic represented by the existing railway system and proposed landscape path. Various factory elements were reused at various scales as signage, furniture, walls, paving, and other decorations. A variety of landscape moments and atmospheres are proposed based on their specific contexts, carefully blended with the architectural color system and negotiated within complex hillside conditions.
Roche Diagnostics
As the first manufacturing facility in Asia, Roche Diagnostics hopes to set a model for future projects in the region. Located in Suzhou, a city with a strong tradition of gardening, this flagship factory will not only meet Roche’s global standard, but will be infused with the spirit of the city’s gardens, distinguishing it from a stereotypical factory. A clea...
San Antonio Station
San Antonio Station is a landscape and architectural retrofit project that transforms an introverted site into an open, connected, and flexible campus landscape. Originally Mayfield Mall, California’s first enclosed shopping mall, the reinvigorated site is named after its proximity to a Caltrain station. The property boasts 500,000 sf of ready-built offi...
Shanghai Tower
China’s tallest building, Shanghai Tower, is located in the Lujiazui Financial Center Zone near the Shanghai World Financial Center and Jin-Mao tower. SWA’s landscape design establishes a “Tower Park” to complement the building’s iconic form and function, connect the mixed-use project with its urban neighborhood, and provide a variety of beautiful settin...
Weyerhaeuser Corporate Headquarters
Founding SWA partner Peter Walker collaborated with architects SOM on site analysis, planning, and landscape development for this hugely influential corporate headquarters, which remains notable for its unique integration of landscape, architecture, and environmental stewardship. The 425-acre site was chosen by the design team with George Weyerhaeuser for its ...