In the heart of downtown San Jose, the first of three new SWA-designed parks celebrates the plum tree and agricultural origins of Silicon Valley. The site is a registered California Historic Landmark and the original nursery of Louis Pellier, known as “ The Prune King’ who introduced the French Prune to the Valley in 1856 and sparked the orchard boom in California.
Seen from above, Pellier Park is designed in the shape of a plum, with the central “pit” delineating a common gathering space and grove, circulation paths and seating forming the “flesh,” tree-lined berms as the “leaves” buffering the park from exposure to traffic noise and pollution, and a northward paseo of flowering trees as the “stem.” A 115-foot long “storytelling wall” along the North edge of the park tells the tale of the Pellier family, the region’s agricultural history and memories shared by the community.
Nickerson Gardens Playground
Originally designed in 1955 by architect Paul Revere Williams, Nickerson Gardens is a 1,066-unit apartment complex in Watts, South Los Angeles — the largest social housing project west of the Mississippi. Core to Williams’ vision was an emphasis on shared open space, but its central playground, neglected for years, fell into a state of disrepair. In collaborat...
Buffalo Bend Park
Houston’s East End is a bifurcated community, with heavy industry brushing up against a vibrant and culturally diverse residential area. Answering residents’ call for more park space, SWA created Buffalo Bayou Bend Nature Park by converting a formerly neglected industrial site into a wetland ecosystem and public green space.
Three interconnected ponds, ...
Changchun Tractor Factory Renovation
Once-industrial site re-imagined as a commercial complex with eye-catching public spaces.
For this site, which was once an industrial tractor factory that epitomized Changchun’s thriving industrial past, SWA provided conceptual design through implementation to transform the former of Changchun Tractor Factory into an eye-catching public realm that fulfi...
San Jacinto Plaza
SWA’s redesign of San Jacinto Plaza, a historic gathering place in El Paso’s downtown business district provides a state-of-the-art urban open space, while protecting and celebrating the history and culture of the site. The project was the result of an intensive community process involving input from a wide range of constituents. Active programming, environmen...