“They took a huge boulevard and shrunk it,
and made walkability come alive.”
– Juror Comment
Avenida Plaza
Development of Distinction Award 2018
Urban Land Institute
For many visitors, the George R. Brown Convention Center serves as Downtown Houston’s gateway. Ahead of hosting the Super Bowl, city officials sought to transform the convention center’s uninspiring eight-lane drop-off into a pedestrian plaza for civic enrichment, art, and leisure. SWA took on this ambitious 140,000-square-foot redesign, converting five city blocks into a promenade that offers visitors an immersive experience of the city’s spirit.
Dubbed Avenida Houston, this multifunctional space seamlessly connects to Discovery Green Park, creating a cohesive pedestrian oasis. Key design elements pay homage to Houston’s roots: elevated wooden platforms reminiscent of oil field crane mats, intricate mechanical detailing reflecting the city’s industrial heritage, and native trees providing sanctuary for migratory birds along the Central Flyway.
Avenida’s centerpiece is “Wings Over Water,” a 60-foot-wide kinetic sculpture. With its industrial tower supporting graceful, translucent wings, which rotate above the activity below, this captivating artwork embodies Houston’s evolution from its oil and gas foundations to a diverse, forward-looking metropolis.
This reimagined urban space now hosts events from farmers markets to cultural festivals, sports celebrations, recreational activities, art, dining, and entertainment. By transforming the convention center area, development has been spurred in surrounding blocks, changing perceptions of downtown Houston, and presenting a new vision of the city’s future.
Related Projects
Burj Khalifa
Playing on the theme of “A Tower in a Park,” this shaded landscape creates a compelling oasis of green, with distinct areas to serve the tower’s hotel, residential, spa and corporate office areas. The visitor begins at the main arrival court at the base of the tower, where the “prow” of the building intersects a grand circular court—a “water room” defined by f...
325 5th Avenue Plaza
A new residential tower has risen across the street from the Empire State Building. As a zoning incentive, a new public plaza was included to attract and accommodate the area’s tourists as well as its diverse office and residential neighborhood. The space is defined by a clean, contemporary design composition of spaces, elements, and custom furniture meant to ...
Guangzhou Vanke Center
Guangzhou Vanke Center incorporates commercial, and office uses in an urban setting. To echo the “cascading” concept of the architectural design, the landscape architecture was inspired by the fluidity of water, as well as the unique local cultural heritage of dragon boats. The design provides for different types of social activity with variously scaled spaces...
Nangang Trainyard Urban Regeneration Landscape
This urban regeneration plan transforms a long-abandoned trainyard site into a highly mixed-used development with retail, commercial, preschool, and public services on the podium floors. One hotel, four office, and three residential towers sit atop of the podium; and the southeast corner is occupied by a standalone administration headquarters for the Tai...