Reclaiming private land for public use, one of Washington D.C.’s most dangerous intersections has been targeted for vast improvements. The project kicked off with the demolition of a Wendy’s restaurant on site and implemented new road alignments to ease traffic congestion. SWA worked with NoMa community groups and the Department of Transportation on the new vision for the intersection.
For Mamie “Peanut” Johnson Plaza, named in a public vote after the first female pitcher in the Negro Leagues, the team drew inspiration from the surrounding context to develop concepts that protect pedestrians and provide sheltered areas to sit, eat, and play. Softly sloping berms are used as multi-functional elements buffering traffic, collecting stormwater, and providing sculptural seat-walls. The new design adds 75 shade trees, pollinator plantings, play elements, and protected bike lanes, reestablishing the intersection as a multimodal gateway rather than a hazard zone. In the first five months of 2025, crash numbers were already down 40% from pre-construction conditions.
Today, NoMa is one of the city’s most densely populated and transit-connected communities, home to nearly 13,000 residents navigating its streets daily. The new plaza, delivered through a partnership between DDOT, NoMa BID, and the NoMa Parks Foundation, creates safer connections between Eckington and the core of NoMa—turning a deadly knot into a safer public commons.
Ningbo East New Town Civic Plaza
As an extension of the Ningbo East New Town Government Center, this civic plaza extends the geometry and ecology of SWA’s past work in the city. A central civic axis runs from the government buildings to the Dongqian Lake edge, providing a large, flexible gathering/event space adjacent to an expansive lawn as well as sweeping views of the water. Per city plann...
Portsmouth Square
Portsmouth Square is the heart of San Francisco’s Chinatown: the main civic park for all community festivals and events as well as an important day-to-day outdoor living room for the community. Centered in the densest community in the United States west of the Hudson River, the park plays a critical role in the health and well-being of the local residents, ove...
Pazhou South Waterfront Park
This four-hectare urban waterfront park is a pilot project in the landscape renovation of Hungpuchong River, setting a high standard for riverfront public space in Guangzhou. The new public realm aims to connect the surrounding neighborhood and transportation hub to the river, bringing people back to the water’s edge.
The park activates the waterfront a...
Gantry Plaza State Park
Once a working waterfront teeming with barges, tugboats, and rail cars, the Hunter’s Point shoreline slowly succumbed to the realities of the Post-Industrial Age and this spectacular site was left to deteriorate. Thomas Balsley Associates, together with Weintraub di Domenico, envisioned Gantry Plaza State Park as a place that celebrates its past, future, skyli...