The JFK Boulevard Streetscape update responds to one of the nation’s most transit-oriented urban districts, where nearly 70% of Philadelphia’s University City residents commute by foot, bike, or public transit. As the primary gateway to 30th Street Station, the third-busiest Amtrak station in the country, JFK Boulevard carried the weight of a major civic corridor while remaining designed almost entirely around the personal vehicle, a disconnect that contributed to a disproportionate number of traffic crashes. The redesign advances the vision of the Schuylkill Yards Master Plan, a landmark partnership between Brandywine Realty and Drexel University to reimagine this stretch of Philadelphia’s skyline, rebalancing the street for all modes while improving safety and environmental performance.
The transformed boulevard is conceived as an outstanding public space in its own right: a multimodal streetscape that reflects the evolving character of University City and anticipates the high-density, mixed-use growth being realized through Schuylkill Yards. Innovative placemaking anchors the emerging neighborhood’s identity and supports its continued momentum, creating a corridor that is as memorable and equitable as the community it serves. SWA/Balsley worked closely with the Philadelphia Department of Streets, Philadelphia Water Department, Amtrak, SEPTA, and PennDOT to achieve this outcome.
Skyline Park
After an extensive public dialogue on its original design and performance, the City of Denver decided on a redesign of Skyline Park, downtown Denver’s only public open spaces. The three-block-long, three-acre, linear park is at the center of downtown Denver and is bisected by the 16th Street Mall, a lively pedestrian space that connects many of Denver’s attrac...
Jinbocho Redevelopment
Situated in central Tokyo’s university and publishing district, this new mixed-use project brought urban streetscape character to its immediate neighborhood through the introduction of plazas whose fountains, seating areas, cafes and sculptures serve residents, workers, and the community as a refuge from the busy streets.
A diagram of pedestrian flows t...
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...
Westshore Park
Complementing the Inner Harbor’s world-famous promenade, Westshore Park has come to be known as the city’s living room on the harbor. The park is strategically located on the innermost shore of the harbor and sandwiched between the new Baltimore Visitor Center and the Maryland Science Center. Having rediscovered its maritime heritage and opened it to the world...