Kobe has a unique geographical context in Japan, with breathtaking views both inland to Mt. Rokko and to the broad expanse of Osaka Bay to the south. The landscape design of SunCity Tower Kobe, a landmark senior community in this newly developed city district, celebrates this environment. The tower is tucked into the northwest corner of the site, setting it away from a major public boulevard. This allows the low-rise nursing wing on the east perimeter and the single-story public program to frame a tranquil, on-grade stroll garden court that features a waterscape inspired by regional hydrology patterns. The development’s formal arrival court at the site’s southwest corner is set apart from adjacent “big box” retail by a generous landscape setback, providing a park-like backdrop for Sun City Hall and the Tea Lounge, two important public spaces. The property as a whole draws on Kobe’s striking mountain, city, and sea features while establishing a new standard of design, service, and care for seniors in the Kansai region.
SunCity Takarazuka
Twenty percent of Japan’s population is 65 years or older and the demands for high quality residential communities for seniors is growing. Helping to meet that demand, SunCity Takarazuka is a new continuum of care retirement community in Takarazuka, a suburb of Osaka, Japan. The project, owned and operated by Half Century More Co., Ltd., a leader in Japan’s fa...
Kingold Century Centre
This new mixed-use development features a complex program that includes a hotel, rental space for other companies, eateries, service apartments, and retail facilities. SWA’s design challenge was to create a common space that can be enjoyed by the disparate users on-site at any given time. A common plaza includes multiple restaurants on a terraced platform that...
Quail Hill
This mixed-use planned community of over 6,000 people features over 2,000 dwellings in a broad mix of single family detached dwellings, and over 500 multifamily dwellings, complemented by a retail center and 800,000 square feet of flexible development. . Prominent natural landforms such as the Southern Ridge and the three knolls have been preserved and incorpo...
South Waterfront Greenway
A bold new plan for the area along the Willamette River includes a 1-1/2 mile extension of the City’s downtown’s parks and the reclamation of the river’s edge for public recreation. Working closely with the City of Portland, developers, and natural resource advocates, the design team devised a rational plan that places access and activity in targeted nodes wit...