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.
East Blocks
50 years in the making, East Blocks envisions a new mixed-use neighborhood spanning 10 blocks of EaDo near Downtown Houston—building. Located within an already diverse, eclectic, and walkable arts and entertainment district, the design celebrates the neighborhood’s history as an industrial hub.
East Blocks will be developed in a multiphase process over ...
Shunde New City
The Pearl River Delta is the second largest bird migration delta and estuary in Southeast Asia. Preserving and restoring bird and wildlife corridors while also providing regional connectivity, transportation, and development options is at the pinnacle of today’s development challenges. In the Shunde New City Plan, urban development and nature are integra...
Chengdu Future Science and Technology City
A key inland alternative to China’s coastal tech centers, Chengdu has emerged as a major science, technology, and manufacturing hub. As part of an international design competition for the city’s Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone organized by a local investment group and the planning bureau, the Chengdu Future Science and Technology City is an achievabl...
Beaumont Downtown Plan
Beaumont sits at the heart of Texas’s “Golden Triangle” and has recently been named a top travel destination and the “Cajun Capital of Texas,” with billions of dollars in new energy investment now flowing into the city. Yet despite this momentum and its historic architecture, downtown Beaumont has struggled to sustain vitality, at...