SWA’s work on the King Harbor Public Amenities Plan manages the site’s vulnerability to severe ocean conditions by updating existing infrastructure, providing new programming, and creating a plan for sea-level rise and King Tides. The Amenities Plan serves as a powerful tool to guide growth both for the waterfront’s immediate future and its long-term success. SWA conducted a feasibility study to determine which areas to rebuild or renovate; how to improve public access and connectivity; and implementation and phasing for the waterfront’s overall longevity.
To bring all project components to life, the team identified funding sources, built partnerships with stakeholders, including a dedicated city-organized “working committee”, and advanced designs. The design team leveraged a creative and multi-layered community outreach approach that included in-person, on-site interactions in concert with online participation, through virtual meetings, social media outreach, and online surveying, to allow residents to express their views organically and in their own time.
Beaumont Downtown Plan
Beaumont sits at the heart of Texas’s “Golden Triangle” and has recently been named a top travel destination and the “Cajun Capital of Texas,” with billions of dollars in new energy investment now flowing into the city. Yet despite this momentum and its historic architecture, downtown Beaumont has struggled to sustain vitality, at...
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...
Guangzhou Axis District Planning
The Guangzhou Green Axis District Urban Design paved the way for new growth in one of China’s major metropolitan areas by bringing nature into the city, connecting people to the river and CBD, and providing a major park and open space for all ages. In the early 2000s, when the project commenced, Guangzhou was a rapidly growing city of approximately 8 million. ...
Diridon Station Area Plan
In the area around Diridon Station, the City of San José and the greater Bay Area region have the unique opportunity to build an internationally prominent transportation hub and to develop a world-class destination. This plan weaves new ideas and new development possibilities into the city’s distinctive neighborhoods and existing urban fabric. Large proposals,...