Originally designed by landscape architect Lawrence Halprin, downtown Los Angeles’ iconic Bunker Hill Steps connect neighborhoods over a series of grade changes. Under new ownership and with increased traffic from residents and office workers, the space was in need of new life – and more shade from the Southern California sun. SWA updated the planting palette and introduced custom bull-nosed planters that fit tightly into the cascading staircase, establishing new canopy among the steps’ series of terraces and landings. The reinvigoration of this important pedestrian route (complemented by an escalator on the west side) provides enhanced accessibility and appeal for the cafes, shops, and dining areas for which the original development is famed.
Library of Congress Packard Campus
A 45-acre site 70 miles southwest of Washington, D.C. serves as the home for the Library of Congress’s Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Collections. The 400,000-square-foot complex consolidates the world’s largest audio-visual collection and provides improved facilities for research, digital conversion, long-term conservation, and public apprec...
Sonoma State Weill Lawn & Commons
Weill Lawn and Commons provide outdoor performance venues at Green Music Center, a world-class performing arts complex. The landscape architects prepared overall master planning and landscape architectural design. A simple, dramatic grading plan unifies project elements, directs circulation, and buffers concert venues from adjacent roadway traffic. Weill Lawn...
Yorba Linda Library + Arts Center
Here a new public library and cultural arts center were artfully sited to create memorable outdoor spaces. Working in collaboration with Group 4 architects, SWA transformed an earlier parking-fronted concept into a plan that resulted in landmark building and outdoor space composition along one of Yorba Linda’s main streets. The outdoor space – the Paseo – serv...
Century Metropolis
Century Metropolis is a civic development that serves the public interest of the Pudong district, the City of Shanghai, and all of China. More than a commercial complex, the project is an integrated development of public transit, cultural programs, open spaces for people, meeting and social gathering functions, business, hospitality, and shopping uses. Earmark...