SWA Group

04/21/2026

In this weekend’s The New York Times, Sam Lubell writes about how museum security has become a design question, particularly after the high-profile jewelry heist of the Louvre last year.

Covering Architectural Resources Group and SWA’s work on Pasadena’s Norton Simon Museum, the piece illustrates how perimeter design, planting, lighting, and structural upgrades can better secure institutions without hardening the visitor experience. For SWA, this work also entailed revisiting an historic landscape by Nancy Goslee Power modeled after the gardens at Giverny—carefully resurfaced, realigned, and replanted to improve circulation while enhancing overall structure.

🔗 Read the full piece: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/arts/design/museums-security.html

📷 Philip Cheung for The New York Times

04/16/2026

TWO WEEKS LEFT to register and earn up to 4.5 FREE CEUs for the richly edited videos of the dynamic presentations at Soak It Up. This recent daylong conference organized by TCLF focused on how landscape architects are at the forefront of addressing climate change-accelerated urban flooding and water management.

The conference videos will be available for THIS MONTH ONLY on PlayCore’s CORE Professional Development Hub and offer opportunities to receive IACET CEUs, AIA CEs, and LA CES credits. Register now at the link below and use code “PARTNER" to register.

https://www.tclf.org/watch-soak-it-los-angeles

📸 Soak it Up Conference, USC Bovard Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA - Photo by Nord Wennerstrom, 2025

04/15/2026

"Biodiversity planning begins below ground," explains Principal Ji hyun Yoo to the South China Morning Post. "Our studio does not see human use and ecological performance as opposing goals. Instead, we design for coexistence ... where social life and ecological systems are not separated, but thoughtfully interwoven."

For the World Trade Center Seoul, Yoo is currently leading a team to reimagine a key hub in South Korea's most prominent business district as a lush, forested campus—weaving 423 canopy trees across a complex site to help reduce urban heat island effect and create a sheltered, immersive natural space for visitors.

Read the full piece in SCMP:

Urban greening is evolving: Asian cities are embracing biodiverse urban forests, moving beyond mere decoration to create ecological, human-centric spaces.

04/14/2026

With over a third of its population above the age of 65, Japan has the oldest population of any country in the world. To meet the growing needs of seniors, innovative companies across the country have created elder-focused developments and programs that center core values of dignified, social, and active aging—including Park Wellstate, the senior division of housing firm Mitsui Fudosan, which has completed four major properties across Tokyo and Chiba since its 2017 launch.

Enveloped in 2,200 square meters of private gardens, Park Wellstate’s flagship residence in Tokyo's Nishi-Azabu district threads biophilic design from the ground plane through a 36-floor, 421-unit tower overlooking Minato City. Developed through careful study of solar exposure, the building’s massing was shifted to carve out a central courtyard sheltered from urban activity—a respite for residents and a stopover spot for migratory birds.

Learn more in Senior Housing News, recognized by the outlet as a best international project of 2025: https://seniorhousingnews.com/2026/04/10/best-international-project-of-2025-park-wellstate-nishiazabu-brings-nature-to-urban-tokyo/

04/09/2026

Today, the role of design in shaping academic and research institutions extends beyond aesthetics—increasingly, campuses are serving as outdoor classrooms, infrastructure to manage stormwater and heat, and civic anchors for the communities that surround them. At the same time, access to green space has been shown to reduce students’ stress, support mental health, and improve concentration in a world defined by constant digital stimulation.

Last week, we explored a few of SWA’s long-term collaborations with colleges and universities. This week, a few individual projects vary widely in scale and context: the Centro Roberto Garza Sada at Universidad de Monterrey in Mexico, the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, and a new central quad at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn.

🔗 Read the full story: https://www.swagroup.com/stories/higher-education-50-years-of-university-planning/

04/06/2026

This month only: earn 4.5 FREE CEUs! Register now to view the richly edited videos of the dynamic presentations at Soak It Up, the recent daylong conference organized by TCLF that focused on how landscape architects are at the forefront of addressing climate change-accelerated urban flooding and water management. It was inspired by the work of the late landscape architect and Oberlander Prize winner Kongjian Yu, the global champion of the “sponge cities” concept, and featured exciting and provocative speakers discussing fascinating issues, among them the most recent Oberlander Prize winner, Mario Schjetnan from Mexico City.

The conference videos will be available for THIS MONTH ONLY on PlayCore’s CORE Professional Development Hub and offers opportunities to receive IACET CEUs, AIA CEs, and LA CES credits. Register now at the link below and use code “PARTNER" to register.

https://www.tclf.org/watch-soak-it-los-angeles

📸 Soak it Up Conference, USC Bovard Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA - Photo by David Lloyd, 2025

04/06/2026

We're proud to share that Courthouse Park received a Merit Award in ASLA NY's 2026 Design Awards.

SWA's vision for the 3.4-acre site in Jersey City proposes the transformation of a former county administration building and surface parking lot into a layered civic landscape for Journal Square, one of the city's most transit-rich yet park-starved neighborhoods. The design harnesses a 10-foot grade change to create two distinct but connected zones: an active lower park oriented toward the historic Brennan Courthouse, and a verdant upper park anchored by an urban forest.

Congrats to the team and our fellow awardees! See the full list:
https://www.aslany.org/asla-ny-announces-2026-design-award-winners/

04/02/2026

We're honored to share that four SWA Houston projects were recognized in Texas ASLA's 2026 Design Awards—including an Award of Excellence, Honor Award, and two Merit Awards. Congratulations to the teams, clients, and collaborators behind each.

🏆 BoAi Lake (Foshan, China) | Award of Excellence, International, Design, Constructed, Images 1–3

🏆 Eastwood Park (Houston, TX) | Honor Award, Design, Unrealized, Images 4–6

🏆 SWA Houston 6th Floor Terrace (Houston, TX) | Merit Award, Design, Constructed; Institutional, Corporate, Commercial, Images 7–9

🏆 Skygarden Terrace at Haihao Tower (Guangzhou, China) | Merit Award, International, Design, Constructed; Residential, Images 10–13

04/01/2026

Following the announcement of SWA's selection as lead landscape architect for the redesign of the World Trade Center Seoul’s public realm, we sat down with San Francisco Principal Ji Hyun Yoo and Managing Principal René Bihan to learn more.

Divided over three interconnected plazas surrounding a central woodland, SWA's plan for the 23-acre site is anchored in a sprawling urban forest, carefully weaving an estimated 423 canopy trees across the site and cooling the streetscape by up to 4°C. Watch to learn more, and stay tuned for updates in the coming months.

03/31/2026

At their best, college and university campuses are mirrors to society.

Over the past 50 years, the nature of campus planning has shifted dramatically, responding to aging infrastructure, shifting mobility patterns, technological innovation, climate risk, and growing demands for institutions to embody social and cultural values. At SWA, our work has evolved in parallel.

For the next few weeks, we’ll be kicking off a series exploring our campus planning projects across the globe. First up, selections from long-running collaborations in California, with more to come.

🔗 Read more: https://www.swagroup.com/stories/higher-education-50-years-of-university-planning/

03/31/2026

Featured in the spring issue of National Audubon Society's magazine, the SWA-designed Kathrine G. McGovern Canopy Walk at Smith Oaks Bird Sanctuary lifts visitors into the canopy, offering intimate views above the wetlands of High Island, where roseate spoonbills, great egrets, cormorants, and black-crowned night herons nest in rookeries below.

Formerly an oil field and now one of North America’s premier birding destinations, the canopy walk was collaboratively designed with Houston Audubon, carefully woven among mature heritage oaks.

🔗 Read more: https://www.audubon.org/magazine/7-canopy-walks-where-you-can-get-birds-eye-view-of-spring-migration

03/26/2026

Happy opening day for Major League Baseball! Last year, more than 71 million fans attended Major League Baseball games. Millions more tuned in around the world, with the World Series alone averaging 34 million viewers across the U.S., Canada, and Japan and peaking at over 50 million for Game 7.

Before attendees take their seats, the stadium landscape serves as the first inning of the fan experience—guiding movement, easing arrival, and setting the tone from city to seat. These plazas, streetscapes, and open spaces don’t just move crowds; they welcome them, connect them, and extend the energy of the game beyond the stadium.

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Slides 1-2: St. Louis Ballpark Village (St. Louis, MO)
Slides 3-4: Macombs Dam Park (New York, NY)
Slides 5-6: Las Vegas Ballpark (Las Vegas, NV)
Slides 7-8: Texas Rangers Ballpark (Arlington, TX)