The “Grand Candela” commemorates the victims and survivors of the August 2019 mass shooting tragedy at Walmart’s Cielo Vista store. Inspired by the motif of an everlasting candle and set in a plaza within the store’s parking lot, the memorial offers a dedicated place of healing and remembrance. Columns of perforated metal, one for each life lost, are joined together in a luminous circle of unity that rises thirty feet– high enough to be seen by the impacted community residing on both sides of the border.
During the day, the metal structure glimmers in the sunlight, the apertures of the individual columns become more discernable upon approach. Programmed lighting at night lends a healing effect, with a votive-inspired glow brightening during the day and dimming to soft vigilance at night. The memorial reads as a luminous beacon, a healing reminder of the community’s oneness.
Elk Grove Civic Center
SWA’s design for this community resource improves upon part of a 56-acre master plan with a civic center campus set within a beautiful park, and an added public outdoor commons. The pedestrian-friendly commons weaves new buildings together with mature trees and an outdoor living space linking together a community center, an aquatics center, and a future librar...
Bunker Hill Steps
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 ...
Alief Park and Neighborhood Center
In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, Houston was compelled to reassess community preparedness. The 37-acre Alief Center, situated in one of the city’s most culturally diverse areas, addresses longstanding issues of disinvestment and environmental injustice while fostering physical and social resilience.
Elevated above the 100-year floodplain, the...
Nanjing International Youth Cultural Centre
SWA was retained to design the landscape of this mixed-use development collaboratively with Zaha Hadid Architects. It contains performing arts, hotel, residential, office and retail functions. Located adjacent to SWA’s Nanjing Youth Olympic Park, the design strives to merge architecture, the park landscape, and people at this iconic focal point. Landform...