DETAILS
“I do sculpture as it relates to my designs, and as the sculpture emerges from the designs it becomes collaborative. This is gratifying because the sculpture is very much in keeping with the overall landscaping concept. It is not an afterthought,” writes Tom Balsley. Here we see the full integration of his sculptural expression in the overall landscape design for Gate City. Each swooping, spiraling, surging forest of steel brings a deeper meaning to the experience.
The challenge for this mixed-use development on the outskirts of Tokyo was to create two spaces, each with its own ambiance, that still function together while giving the complex an unmistakable identity. The South Entry Plaza had to alert visitors that they were crossing a threshold into somewhere special. This effect is achieved with a grid of poplars, planted with military precision, and slashed through with a diagonal path and channels of water.
Shanghai International Dance Center
Inspired by the idea of movement, this collaboration with Studios Architecture achieves an artful harmony of building with landscape, program with site. The image of a dancer in grand jete kindled the designers’ imaginations and served as the project’s organizing idea. Asia’s first professional dance complex is tucked between a freeway, a subway station...
Xiqu Opera Centre
After it was decided to locate the main concert venue on the building’s top floor to create a covered indoor/outdoor public realm, SWA designed the entire ground level of this venue for traditional Cantonese opera, including a dramatic, covered open-air landscape space. There, an urban stage facilitates movement, provides a gathering space, and enhances ...
Culver Steps and Main Plaza
Founder Harry Culver’s renowned axiom, “All roads lead to Culver City,” acquires new meaning with a spectacular addition to ongoing downtown revitalization. The Culver Steps is a public/private collaboration between The City of Culver City and Hackman Capital Partners devised to highlight the city’s creative “maker tradition,” from its involvement in the filmm...
Capitol Plaza
Capitol Plaza is located in the lively neighborhood of Chelsea Heights amid weekend antiques markets, art galleries, hip hop stores, design studios, residential towers, and Flower District shops. This narrow swath cuts through a block just east of Sixth Avenue and is one of dozens throughout the densest portions of Manhattan that bring a moment of respite and ...