Aitken Place Park is at the heart of Toronto’s East Bayfront Community – an area transformed from an underutilized industrial brownfield into a vibrant waterfront neighborhood. Flanked by the residential development to the west and the commercial buildings to the north, the park’s water’s edge location creates a unique destination that invites residents, tourists, and visitors to engage with the lake regardless of season. Through extensive and ongoing consultations with residents, community groups, and private and public stakeholders, Aitken Place was designed to offer amenities that engage the community, reflect the site heritage, and provide a safe and enjoyable opportunity to connect with nature in a dynamic urban setting. Aitken Place Park is a cocoon nestled in a lushly planted frame, as the topography draws upon our natural instinct to ascend, perch, peer, and play in this retreat overlooking the lake.
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 ...
Long Beach Shoreline
SWA prepared a land use and urban design plan for six miles of waterfront adjacent to downtown Long Beach. Through a series of meetings with local community stakeholders, we were able to determine the different needs of each district in the plan: of critical importance was the need to preserve valuable open space inland, and to maintain an ecological corridor ...
Longgang River Blueway System
The Shenzhen Longgang River Blueway System is envisioned to unlock the tremendous land value of this 13-mile-long suburban watershed and galvanize the city’s future growth. SWA’s proposal addresses urbanization issues pertaining to water, the environment, and open space shortage, while also activating industrial and cultural revitalization in the surrounding d...
San Pedro Waterfront Connectivity Plan
Spanning over 460 acres and 8 linear miles of waterfront, the Port of Los Angeles is among the most important pieces of infrastructure in the Western Hemisphere—the largest container port in the U.S., a linchpin for global logistics, and an industrial hub critical to San Pedro and L.A. County at large.
Today, the Port is imagining a more connective, acc...