SWA recently completed a master plan for a 36 km length of the Xingyang Suo River located in Xinyang, China. Located on a site at the confluence of an elaborate network of waterways, the River has served as a transportation system for the movement of goods, services and people between Xingyang, Beijing and the coastal cities to the Southeast. This has transformed the River to be physically and ecologically compromised. The Xingyang Suo River has become a series of water holding basins engineered to hold water for municipal and commercial purposes. SWA’s master plan explores viable ecological and developmental opportunities along the river corridor. The plan’s approach aims to structure a natural system that can sustain an authentic ecological system while creating a framework for distinct development patterns. The design concept uses ‘big nature’ as its guiding principle and is based on an authentic understanding of how natural systems have operated and continue to work at a scale much larger than most urban cities. Within the concept, ‘big’ describes the mechanism for the integration of robust contiguous systems such as engineered hydrologic flows, pedestrian trails, recreation systems, and transit, while ‘nature’ incorporates a new ecological approach founded on the principles of natural landscapes. SWA’s design concept addresses an entire watershed, provides innovative solutions to balance natural resources while creating opportunities for development, tourism, recreation, and healthy living.
St Johns Riverfront Design Incentive Strategy
As part of a larger effort to establish its downtown as a center for business and culture during a period of unprecedented growth, the City of Jacksonville was in need of a design and investment strategy for its underused waterfront along both banks of the St. Johns River. The design team’s approach entails both a large-scale and a node-based strategy, identif...
OCT Bay
Located in Shenzhen, OCT Bay has a combined site area of approximately 1.25 square kilometers including equal parts new urban center and nature preserve. SWA provided both master planning and landscape architectural services for the entire site. As a new urban cultural and entertainment destination, OCT Bay provides urban amenities, entertainment components, p...
Shenzhen Bay
Situated just across the bay from Hong Kong, the city of Shenzhen has transformed from a small fishing town of 30,000 to a booming city of over 10 million people in 40 years – and has grown over 200 times its original size since 1980. Along the way, the character of Shenzhen’s bayfront was radically altered. Over 65 km2 of marsh and shallow bay were filled to ...
SIPG Harbor City Parks
This new riverfront development is located on the Yangtze River in the Baoshan District of Shanghai. This area boasts some of the highest shipping activity in the world. However, in recent years this single-function industrial zone has given way, allowing for waterfront parks to develop. Within this historically layered water front the Baoshan Park and Open Sp...