The new headquarters for Samsung SSI, in San Jose, is a bold vision for a campus and a workplace that highlights interaction. The buildings encourage communication and interaction, leading to a synergistic working environment designed to further transform Samsung into a regional leader in Silicon Valley. To harmonize with the architectural expression, we created a band of landscape throughout the site. Inspired by the city’s symbolic Guadalupe River, the designers produced fields of hardscape, softscape, and water features which flow along the band, causing the character of outdoor space to morph from urban to naturalistic. Four main areas feature four distinct identities: Gateway Plaza, Courtyard, Campus Quad, and Samsung Gardens.
Work attributed to SWA/Balsley principal Gerdo Aquino and his team with SWA Group.
Intercontinental Hotel
Located in the center of the vibrant Times Square district, this new four-star hotel (one of only three in New York City) serves as the base for well-traveled tourists, businessmen and dignitaries from around the world. As a unique product of the hotel’s branding and place-making strategy, the client asked that the courtyard make a memorable first impression o...
Osaka World Trade Center
The World Trade Center Building, also known as Cosmos Tower, is the centerpiece of Cosmos City, a mixed-use development along Osaka’s harborfront. The tower’s base is dedicated to public spaces, including a major retail center that, together with the adjoining Asian Trading Center, attracts visitors, office workers and shoppers. The public open spaces consist ...
Four Seasons Oahu at Ko Olina
The design team’s challenge was to re-envision the existing hotel as a premier luxury destination that employs aspects of local culture and heritage to create a unique sense of place. An existing pool and water features were renovated, two new pools added, and restaurants enhanced. The resulting Four Seasons Hotel redevelopment and new residences by partner To...
Giant Interactive Headquarters
We collaborated with Morphosis Architects on a new ecological park and living laboratory for Giant Interactive Headquarters, a 45-acre corporate campus in Shanghai, China. The design concept blurs the distinction between the ground plane and the structure, weaving water and wetland habitats together with the folded green roof of the main building design. The s...