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.
Suzhou Center
The Suzhou Center is a landmark urban space within the Suzhou Central Business District that embodies the spirit of the city of Suzhou as a gateway for intersecting old and new cultural and historic heritage. The successful combination of high-density development and ecological conservation will allow for Suzhou to transition to a garden city where state-of-th...
Embankment Square
The Embankment Square is located along the east bank of the Huangpu River in Shanghai. The project consists of landscape areas in three office parcels and one waterfront park parcel. The view of the site is remarkable, looking toward the landmark skyscrapers of Lujiazui Financial Center, Nanpu Bridge, the Bund, and the Minsheng CBD.
The design concept c...
Riverside Park South
Located on the West Side of Manhattan on the scenic Hudson River shoreline, Riverside Park South is a massive, multiphase project of sweeping ambition and historic scope. Combining new green space, new infrastructure, and the renovation of landmark industrial buildings, the plan – originally devised by Thomas Balsley Associates in 1991 – is an extension of Fre...
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...