In the strategy for the upcoming integration of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province, the city of Tianjin has been identified as an advanced national manufacture and research base, as well as a core area of international shipping, a financial innovation demonstration zone, and a pilot region for the overall reformation of the area. The location of the SWA-designed Central Park provides a setting that stands poised to reflect the foundation of Tianjin’s industrial past, its traditional and emerging culture, and its trajectory forward as a global city. It lies at the crossroads of the CBD, Culture Center, Yujiapu Train Station and Tianjin Commercial Center and represents a collage of historic and new urban expression. Ziyun Park, built earlier, stands at the core of the park. It was created upon the spoils of the alkaline factory and began the trend toward re-imagining the industrial city as a model of economic, social and environmental sustainability. With the addition of Station Park and Culture Park, a new Central Park will emerge. Central Park will adopt and build upon the basic components of Ziyun Park – forest, trails, recreation, leisure and water conservation based infrastructure. Each of the new park segments will however add a new dimension and a fresh set of experiences to Central Park. In combination, the three park ‘pockets’ will provide a rich gathering place for the community and become a symbol of Tianjin and a positive first impression for those visiting the city from afar.
Dubai Expo 2020
From October 2021 to April 2022, the City of Dubai hosted the World Expo: a large-scale International Registered Exhibition that brings nations together with universal themes and immersive experiences. It comprises an entirely new city, built on a 1,083-acre site between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The Expo site is organized around a central plaza linked to three mai...
Hermann Park
Hermann Park is one of Houston’s great civic resources containing a significant urban forest and many public venues. It is the flagship of the Houston Park system, serving the recreation needs of the City’s diverse population of some four million and welcoming over six million visitors a year. However, like many urban parks in America, much of Hermann Park has...
Hill at Sims
Set along Sims Bayou in Sunnyside, one of Houston’s oldest historically Black communities, Hill at Sims transforms a 106-acre stormwater detention basin into a regional park that pairs flood protection with public access, ecological restoration, and everyday recreation. Built around a four-story mound of earth created during the basin’s excavation in 2005, the...
Perk Park
Originally completed in 1972, this vestige of IM Pei’s urban renewal plan was built when the street was seen as a menace and parks turned inward. Rolling berms surrounded the edges and the sunken middle areas were filled with concrete retaining walls. After years of decline, Thomas Balsley Associates’ designed a plan to reunite the community with its park. The...