Shanghai EXPO’s Urban Best Practice Area surrounds the Plein Air Museum Park, which chronicles the unique and rich history of the site through objects of art, artifacts, and architecture. The landscape component of the museum park is expressed physically in the form of a Central Park: a gathering space and activity center for the community. The landscape was approached as a series of “fragments”: objects such as fountains, landforms, and sculptures as well as more defined spaces. In the Chengdu area, an entire garden was created, while elsewhere courtyards, bosques, and art installations predominate. Together, they form the central park and connect the Creative Innovation Center into one campus that is connected to the City, the surrounding community, and the river. SWA won an international competition for the project and provided full landscape architectural services.
Guthrie Green Park
Guthrie Green transforms a 2.6-acre truck yard into a lively urban park in the heart of downtown Tulsa’s emerging arts district. Opened in September 2012, Guthrie Green has become the area’s leading destination, drawing 3,000 plus people weekly to activities that have enriched the urban experience and spurred district-wide revitalization. The high-performance ...
Fernwood Avenue Park
The Fernwood Avenue Park represents a significant opportunity for the city to enhance the water quality and availability of groundwater for residents, while also offering public amenities. Equipped with four detention basins that capture water onsite and from the street, the project plays an important role in the community as a stormwater infiltration site. Th...
Nickerson Gardens Playground
Originally designed in 1955 by architect Paul Revere Williams, Nickerson Gardens is a 1,066-unit apartment complex in Watts, South Los Angeles — the largest social housing project west of the Mississippi. Core to Williams’ vision was an emphasis on shared open space, but its central playground, neglected for years, fell into a state of disrepair. In collaborat...
San Jacinto Plaza
SWA’s redesign of San Jacinto Plaza, a historic gathering place in El Paso’s downtown business district provides a state-of-the-art urban open space, while protecting and celebrating the history and culture of the site. The project was the result of an intensive community process involving input from a wide range of constituents. Active programming, environmen...