SWA partnered with the City of Burlingame to transform a surface parking lot into “The Grove,” a vibrant 1-acre community gathering space envisioned as downtown Burlingame’s outdoor living room. Blending urban functionality with engaging public amenities, the design features a grid of deciduous trees, a central glass-clad fountain with a cascading waterfall, communal dining areas, spaces for outdoor games, and a flexible zone for markets, festivals, and performances.
Central to the project is the thoughtful integration of the square on two parcels—one city-owned and one privately developed—into a cohesive hub that reflects Burlingame Avenue’s charm and warmth. At the project’s inception, SWA and Urban Field Studio led an inclusive and thorough community engagement process to ensure alignment with broader downtown revitalization goals, collaborating with the city, local stakeholders, and adjacent property owners.
The design emphasizes the pedestrian experience by expanding walkable areas and creating abundant opportunities for connection and activity. Imaginative features include a nighttime art projection that simulates a creek, paying homage to Burlingame Creek flowing beneath the square. Public restrooms within the cast glass fountain add an artistic and sensory element to the square.
Houston Green Loop
With the coming expansion and realignment of the highways around Downtown Houston, SWA identified the opportunity to enact a bold vision: a multi-use branded connectivity system that will leverage the immense reconstruction investment. SWA’s concept creates a continuous pedestrian loop over, under, and around the downtown highway system, thus redirecting the u...
China Beach
China Beach acts as an amphitheater to take in the drama of the San Francisco Golden Gate: the ebb and flow of the wildlife, currents, tides, winds, fog, sun, surf, and marine traffic. Ultimately, this larger landscape and the landscape features of a refreshed beach terrace will be the defining experience for the visitor to China Beach. We are striving to prod...
NOAH Ethnographic Village
Armenia has set an initiative to increase global tourism and develop a site within its capital city with majestic views of Mount Ararat, where Noah’s Ark is purported to have landed. SWA developed a strategic plan based on several principles derived from the existing context of the site: first, to capitalize its proximity to important landmarks that allow for ...
The Memorial at Harvey Milk Plaza
Harvey Milk Plaza is located in the heart of San Francisco’s Castro Neighborhood, and hosts one of the city’s busiest transit hubs. The plaza has been the site of countless gatherings and protests, including a candlelight vigil the night of Harvey’s untimely death and the White Night riots, which were sparked by the leniency of the sentence handed down to his ...