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 foster social seating. With very little sunlight available, the design has embraced glass-enclosed light elements such as pylons, feature walls, wall coping,s and in-ground linear fixtures to enrich the environment. Given the dearth of open spaces in the area and the high demand that was predicted through extensive research, a strategy for public seating choices was employed. A long distinctive banquette and entrance path is an armature from which shaded gardens, picnic tables, and a raised seating overlook are arranged. The plaza has become an oasis of social activity throughout the day and brings tourists and hard-core New Yorkers together in a communal setting.
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...
Kingold Century Centre
This new mixed-use development features a complex program that includes a hotel, rental space for other companies, eateries, service apartments, and retail facilities. SWA’s design challenge was to create a common space that can be enjoyed by the disparate users on-site at any given time. A common plaza includes multiple restaurants on a terraced platform that...
Uptown ATX Master Plan
Previously a single-use, auto-centric office complex, Uptown ATX is a 66-acre transformation resulting in a transit-oriented, mixed-use neighborhood that further bolsters the burgeoning technology hub of Northwest Austin. Situated between the Charles Schwab campus and The Domain, the Uptown ATX master plan features 3.2 million square feet of workspace, 2.9 mil...
United Daily News Plaza
United Daily News Plaza is located on one of the busiest streets of Taipei – Chong Shao East Road. It is a 6,000-square-meter mixed-use project with two building sites. Site A consists of a mixed-use building with a bank and cafe on the first floor, and service apartments on all the floors above. Site B is a residential building. The main design concept ...