KGI Financial Headquarters is in the heart of the Taipei Metropolitan area, along a 70-meter-wide, tree-lined boulevard. The design focuses on creating harmony between people and the environment. To preserve four heritage trees on the site, the buildings were set back, and excavation was minimized to provide an optimal environment for these trees. The resulting open space serves as a vibrant urban sanctuary, offering city residents a lush, open-air “living room” to enjoy.
The landscape design is rooted in the core values of “Share” and “Link.” Extending the private space into the public realm embodies the value of sharing, while incorporating unique natural elements of the Taiwanese landscape represents the value of linking. In addition to preserving the four heritage trees, the design team retained the site’s existing 85 trees and incorporated Low Impact Development standards, reflecting the company’s intrinsic values.
325 5th Avenue Plaza
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 ...
OCT Bao’an Waterfront Cultural Park
Bao’an Waterfront Park is an essential amenity for future residents of Shenzhen’s rapidly expanding Qianhai area, and is also an important connection between the urban fabric and the ocean. The key landscape frameworks for the park are its riverine interpretation aspects and water’s edge programs. The “Eco River” will bring water experiences into the green spa...
Hunter's Point Shipyard and Candlestick Point
Perched on the edge of San Francisco Bay, the Hunters Point Shipyard was an important naval manufacturing center for the WWI and WWII war efforts. The abandoned shipyard and Candlestick Point were combined into a new, mixed-use residential, retail and light industry development—the largest in San Francisco since WWII. Thomas Balsley Associates collaborated wit...
Poly Future City
As the first phase of a large development along a new subway line in Beijing, Poly Future City suggests what’s to come. A sleek sales center features an interactive landscape with water features punctuating its pavilions, which boast WiFi, heated seating, and power outlets, all solar-powered. For this temporary building and landscape, SWA took care to invest i...