Nanjing Greenland International Commercial Center is an urban high-rise project containing two major sites, A1 and A2. The 450-meter main tower, Zifeng Tower, with its concentric rings of mixed trees and linear water features, is the focus of the A1 site. The landscape design encompasses existing parks as well as the adjacent historic features in order to present an environment that is totally integrated with its urban context.
As a historic and recognizable urban feature, Drum Tower and its concentric rings of mixed trees are the focus of the A2 site. The landscape radiates from the central tower, forming a pattern that ultimately extends onto the A1 site. Sidewalks along North Zhongshang were widened to include an urban parterre garden consisting of hedges, colorful perennial flowers, and seating that emphasizes the street’s importance. The parterre celebrates the commercial vibrancy of the street and allows easy and convenient pedestrian movement between the ground floor retail stores and the adjacent street. A diagonal axis, originating from the Drum Tower circle, extends northward across the site and forms a generous pedestrian pathway that includes linear water features. The double rows of trees along the main streets are established in order to emphasize and strengthen the streetscape.
Avenida Houston
For many visitors, the George R. Brown Convention Center serves as Downtown Houston’s gateway. Ahead of hosting the Super Bowl, city officials sought to transform the convention center’s uninspiring eight-lane drop-off into a pedestrian plaza for civic enrichment, art, and leisure. SWA took on this ambitious 140,000-square-foot redesign, converting five city b...
Qingdao SIIC International Financial Center
Qingdao is the birthplace of Tsingtao Beer and, for over 20 years, the Tsingtao International Beer Festival was held on this site. SWA played a crucial role in preserving the community’s cultural landmark status as the land surrounding the festival site was transformed into a new urban campus and transit hub. Recently completed, the Qingdao SIIC International ...
Williams Square
For decades, Williams Square has been the walkable “living room” for Irving, Texas’s Las Colinas community. The plaza’s iconic bronze mustang sculptures, designed by artist Robert Glen, are among the state’s most iconic landscape features, speaking to the state’s identity and history.
SWA’s engagement with the plaza is longstanding, dating back to the 1...
Hunter's Point Shipyard and Candlestick Point
Perched on the edge of San Francisco Bay, the Hunters Point Shipyard was an important naval manufacturing center for the WWI and WWII war efforts. The abandoned shipyard and Candlestick Point were combined into a new, mixed-use residential, retail and light industry development—the largest in San Francisco since WWII. Thomas Balsley Associates collaborated wit...