Championing urban identity, civic values, and quality of life through iconic public spaces at all scales

SWA/Balsley joins together designers from two internationally renowned firms celebrated for innovative, award-winning projects, ranging from large-scale master plans to small urban spaces; from urban waterfronts and major parks to institutional, residential, and corporate landscapes. The places we create reflect our deep commitment to design excellence, and our belief that landscape architecture plays an instrumental role in forging memorable places that connect people with their surroundings…and with each other.

SWA/Balsley is the successor firm to Thomas Balsley Associates in New York. Its principals are also principals of SWA Group, an allied design firm that is 100 percent employee-owned and provides professional services outside of the state of New York. Work shown on this website includes projects designed by SWA/Balsley principals at their respective firms, before the formation of SWA/Balsley in 2016. It also includes work currently done by these principals in their capacity as principals of SWA Group and is attributed accordingly.

Selected Projects

SWA/Balsley is located in Manhattan’s NoMad neighborhood, which has a view of the iconic Empire State Building. We find creative inspiration in our surroundings and our public realm design is informed by our daily experience of the city. The SWA/Balsley studio culture has a distinctly New York City vibe and is led by C0-Managing Principals Tom Balsley and Abdallah Labib.