PHASE 1: Wuhan, known as the land of one thousand lakes, is one of the most ancient cities in China, and is the third largest technological and education center in China, only behind Beijing and Shanghai. Now home to over 8 million people, Wuhan has become the dominant transportation hub in Central China and holds the distinguished role of capital of Hubei Province. In the wake of rapid development and growth, how does this metropolis hold on and celebrate the resources that have allowed this growth in the first place, while inviting and accommodating for a new urban era? One of Wuhan’s most important cultural and natural resources inherent to the city is its patchwork of waterways, rivers, and lakes. By elevating one such water body, Wuhan East Lake to a heightened status, not only will ecological growth occur, but the people of Wuhan will have a sustainable mass of open space to enjoy for generations to come. Through analysis of field data collection, a set of principles for design were developed:
1. Promote the highest level of user safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, and electric cart drivers.
2. Optimize ecological growth. By expanding semi-submersible areas in the form of wetlands and deep marshes, a wide variety of species will be able to not only survive but thrive, as the surrounding city continues to grow.
3. Incorporate the Sponge City concept.
PHASE 2: As part of the design team for Wuhan East Lake Greenway I, SWA has been gratified by its popularity. Greenway I attracts diverse users including bicyclists, electric scooter riders, families with strollers, and pedestrian tourists. However, the passenger flow volume has exceeded expectations, and the linear armature is unable to maintain well-organized, slow traffic circulation. In the process of planning and designing Greenway II, it was essential to provide alternative spaces and further optimize traffic circulation by creating various types of spaces along the greenway. The next phase of the greenway will establish unique identities and focus on satisfying all users from the neighborhood, the city, the country, and beyond.
NOAH Ethnographic Village
Armenia has set an initiative to increase global tourism and develop a site within its capital city with majestic views of Mount Ararat, where Noah’s Ark is purported to have landed. SWA developed a strategic plan based on several principles derived from the existing context of the site: first, to capitalize its proximity to important landmarks that allow for ...
Fort Wayne Riverfront
As a city that was built and thrived because of its location as a crossroads between wilderness and city, farm and market, the realities of infrastructure both natural and man-made are at the heart of Fort Wayne’s history. We consider waterways as an integral part of open spaces of the City, forming a series of infrastructural systems that affect the dynamics ...
TxDOT Green Ribbon Project
The Green Ribbon establishes strategies for corridor aesthetics and landscape enhancements along Texas highways surrounding Houston. This plan addresses existing infrastructure and future expansion needs of the growing urban area.
The project focuses on intensive landscape plantings and architectural treatments, improving aesthetics while addressing air...
Sonoma State Weill Lawn & Commons
Weill Lawn and Commons provide outdoor performance venues at Green Music Center, a world-class performing arts complex. The landscape architects prepared overall master planning and landscape architectural design. A simple, dramatic grading plan unifies project elements, directs circulation, and buffers concert venues from adjacent roadway traffic. Weill Lawn...