SWA/Balsley collaborated with DIG Architects and Montclair State University to reimagine the campus student center, adjacent quad, and connections to the surrounding campus. Through site analysis and project stakeholder meetings, key pedestrian and vehicular circulation routes were identified for resident students, daily commuters, and University staff. The study also identified existing utility corridors, views, key vegetation, and access to parking and buildings. SWA/Balsley’s new plan for the student center area will make it a vibrant destination and a hub for student life. The proposal includes eliminating vehicular and pedestrian conflicts by closing roads, consolidating service functions, and clarifying north-south pedestrian circulation; enlarging and leveling the sunken quad and layering in transverse pathways to encourage free movement and activation of the lawn; introducing generous outdoor lounge areas abutting the revamped student center; and creating a welcoming new rideshare and shuttle arrival area and interstitial plaza spaces that stitch together disparate outdoor spaces into a cohesive and dynamic new landscape.
Cañada College Kinesiology & Wellness
In collaboration with ELS, SWA designed a new landmark for Canada College: the Kinesiology & Wellness Center. The project replaced a windowless 1960s-era gym building and outdoor asphalt yard with the glassy new building and infinity pool deck on this hilltop campus with fantastic views. The project also created a new campus arrival and ceremonial overlo...
Shanghai International Dance Center
Inspired by the idea of movement, this collaboration with Studios Architecture achieves an artful harmony of building with landscape, program with site. The image of a dancer in grand jete kindled the designers’ imaginations and served as the project’s organizing idea. Asia’s first professional dance complex is tucked between a freeway, a subway station...
Miwok Aquatic and Fitness Center
Nestled in Novato’s rolling Oak woodlands, the College of Marin’s Miwok Aquatic and Fitness Center provides Northern California with a new destination for aquatic training and competitions. Part of the College’s Indian Valley Campus, the center neighbors over 1,400 acres of open space preserves. ELS and SWA worked closely to lay out the site ...
University of Chicago Booth School of Business
This project regenerates a spectacular, historic cliff-side waterfront site by activating it with new purpose. Working carefully to interweave layers of preservation and natural beauty, the building and landscape work together to leave a light footprint. Today, a distinctive global campus honors the history of its earlier occupation while providing inspiration...