SWA Group

07/23/2025

Today, nearly a third of Americans live in the “wildland-urban interface,” or WUI—a turbulent zone where suburbs meet wilderness, infrastructure meets ecology, and a warming, drying climate raises the stakes for how we live and build. In California, where cities continue to expand into fire-prone terrain due to a statewide housing crisis, the WUI is particularly fraught and consequential.

This tension is at the heart of SWA’s 2025 Summer Student Program, which brought together seven graduate students in SWA’s Laguna Beach studio for an immersive month-long exploration of Southern California’s WUI. Working with local experts—including a wildfire ecologist, former fire marshal, and biogeographer—students visited active sites across Santa Barbara County and, for their final presentations, developed planning proposals for the Glen Annie Golf Course, a 175-acre parcel newly designated for development under the county’s Housing Element Update.

Read the full story:
https://www.swagroup.com/stories/2025-ssp-rethinks-californias-wildland-urban-interface/

07/18/2025

We're proud to share that SWA's Sausalito and San Francisco studios were honored in ULI San Francisco's "Market Street Reimagined" competition this week.

Running diagonally through San Francisco's two street grids, Market Street has been the city's major transportation spine since 1839—but unfortunately, since the pandemic, it has yet to regain its former vibrancy.

SWA submitted nine proposals exploring opportunities to address these challenges and restore Market Street as a welcoming and dynamic corridor.

🏆 "Asymmetry in Balance" (Yang Zhang, Ratchu Surajaras, Sergio Lima, William Hynes, Marco Esposito) won the Award for Spatial Innovation and Adaptive Urban Form

🏅 "A Living Canvas" (Ji Hyun Yoo, Marco Sherman, Yuling Chen) and "Market Glow Hub" (Yuling Chen) received Honorable Mentions

⭐ "Market Park" (Yu-sheng "Sam" Dent), "Revitalize Market Street" (Jim Lee, Mingyao Wang), "Surf's Up at Barbary Beach" (Bridget Walker, Daniel Cunningham), "Hallidie Rises Again" (Daniel Cunningham, Marco Sherman), "Lost and Found" (Marco Sherman), and "Ecotopia" (Pawida Bualert, Yeqing Shang) were also exhibited at the ceremony

Congratulations to all our fellow competitors!

07/15/2025

Replacing over 10 acres of surface parking at the western edge of UC San Diego's campus, the new Theatre District Living & Learning Neighborhood introduces housing for over 2,000 undergraduate students, interwoven with academic facilities, campus arts venues, and access to the adjacent La Jolla Playhouse.

Anchored by five mixed-use buildings by HKS Architects and EYRC, the site introduces new dining options, interdisciplinary classrooms, and a mobility hub that consolidates bike, shuttle, and rideshare services. But beyond its academic and residential offerings, the neighborhood foregrounds a layered open space strategy—interweaving courtyards, trails, and restored habitat to support ecological function and student well-being.

The landscape builds on the site’s proximity to the campus’ Historic Grove and Coastal Sage Scrub Preserve, restoring portions of coastal forest while extending native corridors throughout the district. Stormwater is managed through a series of stepped basins and bioswales known as The Ramble, which doubles as a connective green spine and social commons. Outdoor classrooms, shaded seating areas, and walking paths are integrated throughout the site plan, encouraging passive recreation and everyday engagement with the landscape.

Targeting LEED Platinum certification, the neighborhood includes all-electric buildings with low-carbon materials, passive ventilation, and high-performance envelopes. In the landscape, native and climate-adapted plantings reduce water demand and heat retention, while permeable paving and smart irrigation support long-term sustainability. Taken together, these elements signal a broader campus shift toward denser, greener development—and a long-term investment in climate-responsive student housing across several of the university’s new developments.

07/11/2025

This week in The Architect's Newspaper: SWA/Balsley and ParkerRodriguez transformed one of D.C.’s deadliest intersections into a multimodal plaza split across three interconnected landscapes.

Reopened this summer as Mamie “Peanut” Johnson Plaza—honoring the first female pitcher in the Negro Leagues—the new design adds 75 shade trees, pollinator plantings, seating, 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.

🔗 Read more: https://www.archpaper.com/2025/07/swa-balsley-parker-rodriguez-peanut-plaza/

📷 1, 3 & 5–7: Sam Oberter
📷 2, 4 & 8: Sam Kittner, courtesy NoMa BID

07/03/2025

Beneath buzzwords like sustainability and resilience, there's often measurable impact to be studied. One such phrase, adaptive reuse, has noticeably picked up steam in the past decade among a range of clients—often shorthand for architectural interventions that preserve features of an existing building, keeping carbon locked in and construction costs down.

But what does it mean for landscape architects? In practice, the meaning is often broader and more layered. (When prompted, our team asked: what *isn’t* adaptive reuse?) Working with structures, soils, and site systems already in place, it’s both a philosophy and a process that requires reading between the lines—finding inventive, surgical solutions to build on what’s there rather than starting from scratch.

This week and next, we’ll feature a few examples across our U.S. portfolio that reflect this mindset, showcasing truly resourceful collaborations with clients, architects, and engineer partners. Visit our website for the full roster and stay tuned for more.

https://www.swagroup.com/stories/second-lives-adaptive-reuse-as-a-strategy-for-low-carbon-cities/

07/02/2025

Across the U.S., this summer is already shaping up to be one of the hottest on record. From Phoenix to Philly, sustained heatwaves have pushed temperatures into the triple digits, clearly illustrating gaps in urban and public health infrastructure.

Last week, we spotlighted shade structures as one strategy for adapting to extreme heat. This week, we turn to water and misting features—an essential part of the landscape architect’s toolkit to create cooling microclimates, sensory interest, and moments of reprieve in the public realm.

These can be subtle or performative: fine mist emitting from rough-hewn stone, sprawling splash pads choreographed with timed jets and light, shallow runnels guiding stormwater through plazas, terraced fountains that mask the noise of nearby traffic and lower ambient temperatures.

Swipe through for examples large and small across SWA’s portfolio—where water functions not just as an amenity, but crucial infrastructure in a climate-changed world.

07/01/2025

Many landscape architects measure their career by impact on human lives—parks that become community anchors, overlooked sites given new life, designed refuges from daily stress. By any of those measures, Chuck McDaniel’s legacy is profound.

For over four decades at SWA, Chuck has shaped Dallas’ public realm—through projects like the Katy Trail, Pacific Plaza, Williams Square, and Halperin Park—and emerged as a leading voice in hospitality design, with landmark resorts such as Las Ventanas al Paraiso and The Resort at Pedregal. And the list goes on. Over 46 years, he has championed design excellence and craftsmanship across the firm and made a lasting impression on the field at large.

This month, as Chuck retires from his role as Co-Managing Principal of SWA Dallas, please join us in celebrating his extraordinary career, leadership, and contributions to the profession. This summer, Zane Busbee assumes the role as sole Managing Principal of the office, continuing the studio’s work across a range of public parks and trails, mixed-use, hospitality, corporate workplace, and high-rise projects across Texas, the U.S., and international markets.

Congratulations, Chuck—and thank you!

06/27/2025

Today, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie announced that the Memorial at Harvey Milk Plaza is officially advancing toward construction after years of grassroots advocacy, engagement, and design led by Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza and SWA.

“Harvey Milk Plaza reflects the heart of this city and the spirit of one of its greatest leaders. After years of advocacy and community leadership, the memorial at Harvey Milk Plaza is officially moving forward,” said Mayor Lurie. “Harvey fought for dignity and equality. He believed in public service that was personal. He believed that government should reflect the people it serves. And he understood that hope requires action. Today, Harvey Milk’s legacy lives on.”

Beyond honoring an American civil rights pioneer, the Memorial at Harvey Milk Plaza was conceived as a monument to freedom of expression in public spaces. Located at the intersection of Castro and Market Streets—the site of a 1978 candlelight vigil the night of the assassinations of Milk and Mayor George Moscone—the memorial is divided into two distinct spaces: an open gathering area with an elevated pedestal to the east and a quiet reflection grove to the west.

“Harvey understood very well the meaning and power of hope. He understood how enemies of equality seek to divide us and tear people apart, and we are seeing this right now,” said Cleve Jones, an activist, author, and friend of Harvey Milk. “Our community understands that the best response in these times is to organize, form coalitions and stand shoulder to shoulder as we fight back. I’m beyond thrilled that the new Harvey Milk Plaza celebrates not only Harvey’s emphasis on hope, but also his call to get involved and to act, so that each of us can be an instrument of change.”

Together with the forthcoming opening of an LGBTQ+ history museum and the renovation of the iconic Castro Theatre, the Memorial caps off a generational multi-million mobilization of public and private investment in one of the nation’s most prominent q***r neighborhoods.

Construction is anticipated to break ground in 2026 and reach completion as soon as 2028.

Stay tuned for more in months to come.

06/27/2025

In Gurugram’s Sector 31, 30 kilometers southwest of New Delhi, where high-rise towers border a forest preserve, the new residential community Birla Arika introduces over 13 acres of terraced gardens, shaded courtyards, and pedestrian corridors, bringing accessible greenery into a densely situated urban setting.

The neighborhood, developed by Birla Estates and Barmalt India over two phases, with phase one spanning four towers and over 300 residents, is anchored by “The Walk,” a 200-meter promenade through the heart of the development. The landscape links residents to four clubhouses, a resort-style pool, and a series of tiered gardens designed to capture runoff and cool surroundings.

SWA’s planting strategy draws on regional species, including neem, banyan, and golden bamboo, to establish distinct zones for recreation and quiet reflection. Elevated pathways connect residential towers to communal areas, while native habitat pockets create continuity among green spaces, restoring ecological function while offering shaded retreats from the surrounding density.

Swipe through for a sneak peek at the final product and a 3D model showcased at the recent open house.

06/25/2025

This week, a record-breaking heat dome sent temperatures soaring into the triple digits across the Eastern United States, putting nearly 150 million people under heat advisories and warnings across cities and rural communities. As landscape architects, we’re acutely tuned into the role the built environment can play in mitigating heat through solutions like shade structures, expanded tree canopy, cooling centers, water features, surface materials, and smart planning decisions.

In the weeks ahead, we’ll spotlight specific interventions, beginning with shade structures. Even modest overhead cover can significantly lower ambient temperature, offering immediate relief and visual interest to public space, regardless of scale or form. Tensile fabric canopies, brise-soleils, vine-covered trellises, steel pavilions, sculptural breezeways, retractable shelters—these elements take many forms but serve a common purpose: making outdoor spaces safer and more comfortable as heat becomes a defining feature of urban life.

Click through for examples across the globe.

06/24/2025

Today, Urban Land Institute announced that Hunter’s Point South Park—an 11-acre climate-resilient waterfront park in Long Island City—received one of ten 2025 Awards of Excellence, recognizing "the highest standards of achievement in the land use profession."

Behind every urban park is a philosophy for how public space should serve its city—and since its completion in 2018, Hunter’s Point South Park has been widely recognized as a precedent-setting model integrating flood resilience, ecological design, and community-oriented planning, a front yard to over 3,000 new housing units in Queens.

Thank you to the jury and congratulations to our many partners. Read more: https://americas.uli.org/hunters-point-south-park-uli-americas-awards-for-excellence-winner/

06/23/2025

Once monolithic office parks, corporate campuses have increasingly shifted into walkable neighborhoods threaded with green space, community amenities, and climate-conscious design. At Walmart's new Home Office in Bentonville—profiled this week in The New York Times—this trend is exemplified across 350 acres of native Arkansan ecosystems and waterways punctuated by mass-timber facilities.

"The idyllic grounds, with more than 750,000 native plants, would not be out of place among those of the biggest tech companies in the world," writes Kevin Draper.

Read the full piece:

The retailing giant is spending billions to attract workers to a new headquarters and woo shoppers with drone delivery and a broader range of items (like Louis Vuitton handbags).