News

News2020-02-10T14:52:35+00:00

News

Innovative place-making is news-making. Whether at the scale of a discrete site, a campus, or an entire district or community, SWA/Balsley’s projects are often featured in the press.

LATEST PRESS

Tap Into Jersey City
12/31/2023

A new milestone for the SWA/Balsley-designed park in the heart of Journal Square.

Architizer
8/2/2023

SWA/Balsley’s work on Nelson Mandela Park is at the forefront of the city’s rethinking of its relationship with water.

Washington Post
7/20/2023

Construction has begun on SWA/Balsley’s transformation of one of D.C.’s most notoriously confusing intersections.

West Side Rag
7/2/2023

Anglers describe their experiences at Riverside Park South, with a quote from project principal-in-charge Tom Balsley.

New York Times
5/9/2023

Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park is cited for its inclusion of tidal marshland.

The Field
4/13/2023

SWA/Balsley’s John Wong helped to lead a field session on Stanford University’s Olmsted Plan and Contemporary Design.

Engineering News Record
3/22/2023

The project will be the first large public park to be built in Journal Square in decades.

The Architect's Newspaper
3/15/2023

The new three-acre park will be situated on a plot abutting the Beaux Art-style structure.

The Architect's Newspaper
3/7/2023

Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park is lauded as “a spectacular urban park (that) anchors the exhibition’s commitment to public space.

The Guardian
2/24/2023

A new exhibition at NYC’s MoMA shows some successful examples of building with nature, exemplified in part by Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park.

Popular Science
2/21/2023

The fortified edge of Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park protects emerging wetlands from harsh wave action.

Common Edge
2/13/2023

An interview with SWA/Balsley’s Tom Balsley on one of his most celebrated parks‘ significance.

Arch Daily
12/19/2022

Innovation QNS aims to create an inclusive public realm network to enliven public life in the district.

Guia Folha
11/17/2022

The B32 Pavilion, for which SWA/Balsley designed the plaza, art carpet, and the whale schematic, is featured.

DOMUS
11/18/2022

“New York, New Publics” exhibition features Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park as an example of how public space has changed in the American metropolis.

The Architect's Newspaper
9/28/2022

MoMA’s “Architecture Now” exhibition will feature SWA/Balsley’s much-celebrated Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park.

MOMA.org
9/28/2022

Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park will be part of the NYC Museum of Modern Art’s upcoming 2023 exhibition.

Spirituality & Health
9/16/2022

This piece, which covers the physical and mental health benefits of the outdoors, features Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park.

Landscape Architecture Aotearoa
8/1/2022

SWA/Balsley’s Uptown ATX mixed-use community is the focus of this piece.

NewCities.org
6/8/2022

A photo of Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park is used to illustrate the project’s integration of tidal marsh elements.

Architects Data File
3/16/2022

Construction is underway on this 66-acre, master-planned Austin neighborhood, whose public realm was designed by SWA/Balsley with Coleman & Associates.

Landscape Architect
3/12/2022

The innovative Portland, OR riverfront provides both habitat and recreation for an emerging neighborhood.

Arch Daily
12/07/2021

SWA/Balsley’s Hunter’s Point South project in New York and SWA’s Bao’An Waterfront Park in Shenzhen help to define global design responses to sea level rise.

The Architect's Newspaper
11/17/2021

SWA Group/SWA/Balsley has finalized a master plan that will transform 100 acres of formerly industrial Jersey City waterfront.

stirworld.com
10/22/2021

SWA/Balsley Co-CEO Gerdo Aquino, who is in charge of landscape design for the project, is quoted.

Architect Projects
10/4/2021

One of Rotterdam’s “Big Five” parks projects, the park celebrates the maritime heritage of Rotterdam while harnessing the coast for the benefit of future generations.

E-Architect
9/22/2021

SWA/Balsley’s master plan was recognized with an ASLA-NY 2021 Design Award.

Next City
9/27/2021

Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park strategically uses both green and gray shoreline design techniques  — and serves as a great model for coastal development in urban areas.

Fast Company
9/23/2021

2019 Innovation by Design winner Hunter’s Point South is mentioned as a standout in visionary thinking.

E-Architect
2/23/2021

SWA/Balsley’s award-winning design for the park’s master plan is celebrated as an “active, multi-cultural” catalyst for the urban district.

Inhabitat
8/2/2021

SWA/Balsley’s master plan promises to transform an underused harbor into urban green space.

Arch Daily
5/6/2021

Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park is offered as an example of environmentally responsive design.

Building Design and Construction
5/3/2021

The conceptual plan provides much-needed central neighborhood and civic open space in the city’s South Maashaven district.

PS Paisea
3/5/2021

An in-depth look at SWA/Balsley’s award-winning park.

World Architecture News
2/12/2021

The design, by SWA/Balsley and 5+design, won an international competition and fuses retail and park experiences.

Hudson County View
1/20/2021

SWA/Balsley’s Steven Lee is quoted.

ULI.org
11/3/2020

The SWA/Balsley project was recognized for “Excellence in Civic Development.”

The Architect's Newspaper
10/2/2020

Phase 2 of SWA/Balsley’s Hunters Point Park South received a Special Recognition Award.

Building Design and Construction
11/9/2020

SWA/Balsley Principal Tom Balsley on ways to listen and engage… even during a pandemic.

Metropolis
10/30/2020

Designing for resilience… and creating places for people and the planet.

Washington Business Journal
10/13/2020

SWA/Balsley’s new vision transforms one of Washington D.C.’s most dangerous intersections into a celebrated entry at the heart of the city.

TOPOS
7/20/2020

Learn more about the principles and influences driving Tom Balsley’s transformative and provocative spaces.

Design Wanted
7/7/2020

A lifelong passion for creating places that are “impactful, beautiful, and useful.”

Architect Magazine
7/10/2020

This SWA project’s “ample public space,” lawns, and shade are an integral part of its success.

Politico
7/3/2020

SWA CEO Gerdo Aquino looks to the sky – space between and atop buildings – for solutions.

LArchitect
4/6/2020

This interview with SWA’s CEO is also available as a podcast.

Columbia University MSAUD Curriculum
11/1/2019

Tom Balsley is featured in this video discussing seating at Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park.

Scale
6/5/2020

Tom Balsley on harnessing the public’s imagination to reshape social and cultural spaces.

Green Good Design
5/13/2020

SWA/Balsley’s design for the park was recognized by two organizations as an example of “progress toward a healthier and more sustainable universe.”

Landscape Architecture Magazine
3/31/2020

Parks along New York City’s vulnerable waterfront, like the one recently completed at Hunter’s Point South, are both amenity and armor.

Landscape Architecture Magazine
3/28/2020

Principal Gerdo Aquino is quoted in this piece describing how design firms like SWA/Balsley are handling the COVID-19 situation.

The Architectural Review
3/13/2020

The plaza, for which SWA/Balsley designed landscape, was recognized in the Shopping and Retail-Led Development category.

archmarathon.com
3/4/2020

Congratulations to Tom Balsley and our collaborators at Weiss/Manfredi on being recognized for their “forward-looking strategy for the city of New York.”

aia.org
1/20/20

The project was lauded as “ambitious” and a “model of urban ecology and sustainable thinking.”

The New York Times
1/15/2001

Riverside Park South is winning local hearts and minds.

Vision + Voice
1/13/2001

Ways to avoid landscape solutions without synergy between a site and building.

The Architect's Newspaper
3/26/2011

Hunter’s Point South’s iconic overlook offers a serene view of the New York City skyline.

The New York Times
9/5/2013

Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park successfully weathered the devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy.

The New York Times
7/1/2013

Riverside Park South is featured in this piece about innovative outdoor seating.

The New York Times
9/4/2003

Piers as “accidental artworks” hark back to an industrial past.

Daily News
6/24/2015

A peek at the master plan and  renderings of the highly anticipated Pacific Park.

Hospitality Design
2/11/2011

Private, “vest-pocket” park is comprised of a series of strategically layered landscape features.

Cleveland.com
8/4/2012

A people-watching paradise and a patch of urban heaven.

Azure
4/2/2014

SWA/Balsley is named as one of the firms preparing cities for climate change.

Architectural Record
6/16/2014

Innovative strategies to manage water and enhance sustainability.

Arch Daily
10/19/2012

Putting the finishing touches on a new landmark project for the city of Cleveland.

AdWeek
8/29/2013
Curbed
8/4/2014

With each new building will come a chunk of a new eight-acre park designed by Tom Balsley.

Curbed
8/27/2013

The first piece of Hunters Point South is a reality.

Curbed
2/22/2008

Not a bad place for playing hooky.

TOPOS
9/15/2015

Tom Balsley on Riverside Park South and Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park.

GB&D
9/6/2013

The success of this waterfront park is its two-way relationship with its urban context and community.

The Dirt
9/3/2013

The park is highly resilient and designed to adapt to climate change.

The Architect's Newspaper
4/13/2015

The design significantly upgrades and expands an existing plaza that opened in 2011.

The Architect's Newspaper
9/11/2013

The park’s design displays clever pragmatism that capitalizes on the site’s assets.

The Architect's Newspaper
11/20/2012

SWA/Balsley’s design of a new quad at SUNY Albany is featured.

The Architect's Newspaper
8/10/2012

A transformed park presonifies the spirit of reinvention that has recently overtaken Cleveland.

The Architect's Newspaper
9/7/2010

A freeway finally gives way for a new waterfront park.

Archello
2/1/2018

SWA/Balsley’s 23-acre waterfront park profiled.

International New Landscape: Public Landscape Art
Thomas Balsley: The Urban Landscape
Public Landscape, by Xing Rihan
BBC: Around The World In 80 Gardens
Fast Company
9/19/19

The project was honored in the Spaces, Places, and Cities category.

Fast Company
9/19/19

Tom Balsley and Marion Weiss share the design thinking behind Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park.

CBS This Morning
9/17/19

Tom Balsley talks on site with national news, revealing the park’s features.

Curbed LA
9/12/19

Outdoor spaces designed by SWA lend connectivity and life to this exciting new housing project in downtown LA.

WHYY Philadelphia
9/5/19

A daring yet livable design for Philadelphia.

The Architect's Newspaper
9/5/19

Landscape master plan serves employees, complements context.

Archinect
8/22/19

The SWA/Balsley-designed Highline Park serves as an “urban foyer” for the development.

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
8/22/19

Landscape aligns with the natural features of the region.

urbanize.la
8/17/19

The development, with landscape by SWA, is in high demand.

CBS
8/15/19

The La Candela memorial will open to the public in November.

The Guardian
8/1/19

How humans really behave in public space.

Culver City Observer
7/11/19

The completed project that have drawn rave reviews.

urbanize.la
7/1/19

The entire office portion of the mixed-use project has been leased by Amazon Studios.

Metropolis
6/4/19

A symbiotic relationship between old and new.

FuturArc
5/28/19

Landscaped deck and heritage courtyard are open to the public, and tie to existing trails and lookout points.

SHINE
5/24/19

Once a bustling center for maritime trade, the Changtan area is being developed for housing and leisure.

philly.com
5/6/19

Cautionary lessons learned from Hudson Yards.

Interior Design
5/14/19

The awards celebrate outstanding talent across major areas of design and technology.

designboom
4/25/19

Dynamic campus with thoughtful design strategies to create an energetic cultural hub.

ArchDaily
3/15/19

Iconic venue promotes the production, education, and research of Chinese opera, the primary genre of indigenous Chinese theater.

Azure
3/15/19

Elevated paths and artfully installed wetlands define Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park.

urbanize.LA
2/28/19

Colorful develoment bisected by a landscaped paseo, itself an extension of a historic pathway.

Wallpaper
1/23/19

Second phase of Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park is a multi-layered experience, weaving together infrastructure, landscape, architecture, and art.

Stanford University
1/22/19

Reclaiming the 100-year old vision of Leland Stanford and Frederick Law Olmstead.

Untapped Cities
1/10/19

Whether it is a large park or a small plaza, SWA/Balsley is dedicated to creating spaces that make urban life more livable.

Urbanize.LA
1/7/19

A large public plaza connects to Chinatown’s commercial core through a mid-block crosswalk.

CityLab
12/27/18

Parks that opened in 2018 exemplify how parks can unite, repair, and invigorate cities.

The Wall Street Journal
2018-12-20

Giving shape to complex experiences… the more sensory, the better.

Interior Design
12/13/18

The Long Island City park offers stunning views on its circular waterfront lawn.

TOPOS
11/18/18

Transforming abandoned industrial land into a resilient infrastructure… and a contemplative retreat for the neighborhood.

Williamsburg-Greenpoint Patch
2018-08-20
World Landscape Architecture
2018-07-24
Metropolis
6/27/18

Second phase uses a restored landscape to buffer against future extreme weather events.

J (Jacksonville) Magazine
2018-06-25
Landscape Architecture Korea
2018-04-11
Wichita Business Journal
3/22/18

A small stage area and canopy area with new-age, collaborative furniture are also featured.

Landscape Architecture Foundation
1/12/18

The project will serve as an example of the benefits of high-performing landscape projects.

The Boston Calendar
11/9/17

The importance of collaborative decision-making between communities, city agencies, and consultants.

4/18/17

Part of a series of essays rethinking future landscapes.

10/4/16

Colorful ribbon walls and pipe screens offer an urban escape.

9/6/16

Recognition for a landmark melding of landscape and infrastructure.

4/27/16

A flexible plan that has stood the test of time.

3/7/16

Bold, multi-layered approach focuses on cultural relevance, sustainable growth, and resiliency.

2/23/16

Fully immersive virtual reality technology offers a “sneak peek.”