On an approximately 10-acre, four-block area in Miami’s Park West neighborhood, the team of SHoP Architects and West 8, led by noted developer Michael Simkins, is proposing a new special-use district that will provide the infrastructure for the future growth of creative technology industries in the city. 

The district is conceived as an urban campus, an integrated complex of mutually-supportive programs including public amenities, targeted retail opportunities, indoor and outdoor spaces for community and campus gathering, performance and exhibition zones, office environments suited to the collaborative work typical of high-performing tech companies, and a variety of housing designed specifically for the generation that will be drawn to work for such companies.

West 8’s design for the public space employs several strategies to meet the district’s goal of providing active, vital streets and an activated ground plane. Foremost among them is to promote a hierarchy of gateway streets to encourage pedestrian and vehicular connectivity through the district, between neighborhoods and areas of intensive use north of I-395, and in the city center. In the east/west direction, a network of wide, walkable streets promote pedestrian flows between Museum Park and the Overtown neighborhood. Each corridor in the district retains a distinct character and range of experiences highlighted by variations in scale, landscape, materiality, and function.

The design of Miami Innovation District’s (MID) public spaces are a critical component of the day-to-day vitality, identity, and experience of the District. Lots of people will come and walk through MID’s streetscapes and open spaces. West 8’s design approach taps into this resource by creating spaces specifically responsive to the unique context, architecture, views and climate in order to reinvigorate the district. It responds to three types of users: the day-to-day staff/business community (during weekdays), the residential community (during evenings and weekends), and event-seekers (year-round), to create maximum vitality in the public realm. Establishing a strong narrative and ensuring every visit is both inspiring and delightful.

Queens Quay, which runs east-west parallel to the lakefront, is the Toronto’s main waterfront street. This 1.7km (2 mile) waterfront boulevard, which was officially opened in June 2015, was designed by West 8 in collaboration with DTAH and developed by Waterfront Toronto.

The redevelopment of Queens Quay is one of the sub-projects from the 2006 award-winning Toronto Central Waterfront master plan.

The reconstruction of Queen Quay noticeably reorganizes traffic: it reduces the number of lanes of traffic on the street from four to two, places a dedicated Light Rail Transit (LRT) Corridor in the middle, and adds wider granite sidewalks on both sides of the street. The waterfront Martin Goodman Trail (a multi-use recreational trail) has also been extended and runs along the broad south side of the street.

The generous pedestrian sidewalk on the south side of the street includes a double row of 240 trees. Each of which are planted inside a silva cell, a hollow frame that contains a generous amount of soil for the tree while supporting the weight of the pavement above. Built-in irrigation channels in the pavement steer rainwater to the trees’ roots and then the overflow into the sewer system.

Once uninviting, the opening of the new world-class Queens Quay, links major destinations along the water’s edge creating a Public realm that is pedestrian and cycling-friendly. It offers a grand civic meeting place and an environment conducive to economic vitality and ground floor retail activity. The design will create a lasting legacy for the city, which is both beautiful and functional. 

The winning competition entry for the redesign of 't Zand, (Het Zand Square) in the UNESCO city of Bruges, Belgium is, according to the jury ''revolutionary in its simplicity.’’

West 8 + Snoeck & Partners together with Atelier Roland-Jéol's design, entitled ‘The Square of 150 Lindens’ strives to maximize available space for a multitude of uses. Striking a balance between the intimacy necessary to make attractive and pleasant square and the demands of a premier event plaza.

At 8,500m2 ‘t Zand, is the largest public square in the historic city of Bruges. It fulfills an important social function within the city and is host to some 218 events per year. Its location, in the heart of Bruges, makes 't Zand an important link in the city’s network of squares.

The urban evolution of 't Zand has seen it undergo a series of transformations in image and perception. A succession of interventions; railway lines, road infrastructure, and vaulted canals have resulted in gradual separation of the square from the surrounding medieval urban fabric. Creating a barrier between the iconic downtown and West Bruges. While the square is currently functional, it feels big and empty.

The design solution offers a renewed identity for the square, unearthing a full-fledged 'Bruges' character that draws on the rich historical, cultural and scenic layers of ‘t Zand . Subtle emphasis is placed on several existing spatial characteristics to mark the original identity of the square legible once again.

The redesign focuses on the experience of the King Albert I Park adjacent to the square, embedding the iconic Concert Hall (Concertgebouw) in a more natural context. New intimacy is created by adding and double rows of Linden trees around the square, whilst still preserving the site’s open character. The trees provide a scenic corridor and functional zone for terraces, bicycles and entrances to the underground parking. The use of a subtle material/colour palette and quality natural stone complements those found within the city center.

The plan significantly reduces vehicular traffic while still providing the necessary accessibility and connections to the street fabric. The gaping void at the mouth of tunnel mouth near the Smedenstraat is filled with a building. The proposed new building helps frame the square by enclosing it on all four sides. This sense of enclosure will be further enhanced by the introduction of custom designed lighting elements. Within a few years 't Zand will be transformed into Bruges premier event plaza.

The site Vathorst is situated on the east side of the A1 highway that forms the border to the last suburban extensions of the city of Amersfoort. West 8 together with Kuiper Compagnons made a masterplan for this Vinex site. The plan contains 11000 dwellings, 90 hectare of commercial, industrial and office programs and its required public facilities.

The Vathorst Masterplan has a theme: 'A World of Difference'. It was developed between 1996-2000 by West 8 together with Kuiper Compagnons. The idea is to show how new housing suburban estates can also be varied and exciting, in contrast to the common 90's newly built Vinex estates which many of them are criticized to be repititive and monotonous.

The masterplan for Vathorst district is a bold design with the residential area consisting of various neighbourhoods each with its own distinctive character. They offer a platform for innovative architecture. The result is an extensive variety of housing types matched with appropriate facilities, while at the same time much attention is also given to the existing surroundings and the provision of arts and cultural facilities in order to create a new community for the residents.

The masterplan is divided into four main zones:

• Werkstad (City of Labor): an area with concentration of industrial, commercial and office program at the junction of national infrastructure.
• De Velden (The Plains): low-density urbanization respecting the existing rural landscape with tree lines.
• De Bron (The Well): high-density cluster around a clean water basin.
• De Laak (The Canal City), a high density housing area (65 houses p/ha) designed as a homage to the tradition of old Dutch canal cities, with a waterways system connected to the nearby IJsselmeer lake.

After the masterpplanning phase from 2000, West 8 has been responsible for De Laak (The Canal City) zone as urban planner, landscape architect and supervisor of implimentation in order to ensure quality execution of this special area.

For more information please visit also: Vathorst - De Laak (the Canel City)

Related profile: 50 Bridges of Vathorst

In July 2015 West 8 was announced as the winners of the urban design and landscape conceptual planning competition Brunecker Strasse (ehem. Südbahnhof) in Nuremberg, Germany. The 90-hectare former industrial site is to be redeveloped into Lichtenreuth, a new urban mixed-use district complete with residential, civic and commercial uses as well as a variety of public open spaces. 

The planning area situated in between the Nuremberg city centre, recreational area ‘Volkspark Dutzendteich’, industrial areas and residential neighborhoods, West 8’s design focuses on connecting its surrounding areas by using green network and sustainable means of urban planning.

The new development establishes a sub centre that connects and serves the rather mono-functional surrounding areas. The result is a compact and dense design both in appearance and program for a diverse new neighborhood. The redevelopment district itself is divided into sub-areas (modules). Intensely programmed transitional green public spaces separate different zones of the site and yet provide connections. This network of green corridors is part of an integral green public space to help orientating all dwellings and commercial areas in the neighborhood.

This green public space programmed with playgrounds, sports and a tramline, aims to facilitate the natural formation of a local community that provides basis to a social, healthy and sustainable lifestyle. The key green space in the planning area is the Lichtenreuth Park, a linear park stretches from East to West, connecting Hasenbuck Park with Volkspark Dutzendteich. It will become the 'green heart' of the new Lichtenreuth.

Most coastal settlements occupy a tenuous line at the edge of water and land. They are strategically positioned on the ocean’s edge, but have to balance the consequences of coastal storms and increasingly the effects of climate change. However, the Deltaic Louisiana Coast has an opportunity that most other coastal regions do not: a dynamic, sediment-rich river that drains 40% of the contiguous US, which can continuously replenish this edge into a rich, productive wetland zone.

While other cities are exposed to rising seas on fixed coastal edges, Louisiana can free itself from a century-long approach of flood control into one of controlled flooding and deposition, allowing the annual pulses of the Mississippi River to sustain a thriving wetland apron and allow for active land-building, protecting one of the Nation’s most crucial economic zones, enhancing ecosystem productivity, and nourishing human occupation for centuries to come.

Team Moffatt & Nichol | West 8 | LSU-CSS proposal - The Giving Delta project proposes six primary strategies that will bring a self-sustaining Delta into being over the next century.
1. Couple annual river operations with long term adaption
2. Shift from flood controlled to controlled flow
3. Move the mouth of the river inland
4. Inevitable transgression leads to a consolidated delta zone
5. Invest in ports & shipping in a consolidated working delta
6. Link community infrastructure in a resilient and adaptive network

A host of engineering and design tactics were studied, bringing these strategies to level of realism that demonstrates this project is implementable. Sand Motors and barrier islands harness longshore and offshore coastal processes to keep sediment and sand in the littoral zone for the long term.

Investment in the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway underpins the importance of a key commercial and industrial corridor while allowing for inter-basin management of salinity levels. Structures such as passive spillways and controlled floodways are carefully sized for projected flood levels that maximize sediment deposition while keeping salinity levels within the tolerance of oyster beds, commercial fisheries, and native ecosystems. Sediment traps and dedicated dredging allow active control and placement of precious sediments to the areas within the Coastal Zone where it is needed most urgently for economic and residential protection.

For more information visit Changing Course 

In 2006 West 8 + DTAH won the Central Waterfront Innovation Design Competition with a mandate to transform Toronto’s waterfront to a world-class destination celebrating Canada’s lakefront experience. Central to the award winning master plan is a 3km long promenade at the water’s edge, which creates a continuous public open space between buildings and the Lake. Completed in July 2010, East Bayfront Water’s Edge Promenade, extending from Canada’s Sugar Beach to Sherbourne Common is the first phase of the promenade. As lead consultants, West 8 + DTAH were responsible for coordination of sub-consultants, design development, working drawings and contract administration.

The promenade, which consists of a mosaic of granite pavers with a double row of Maple trees and a suite of custom designed furniture is 925m long and 9.4m wide. An additional 9m wide pedestrian zone composed of concrete unit pavers also runs parallel to the promenade. Creating a combined width of 18.4m of new public space between the buildings and the Lake. Patio seating spills across the pedestrian zone from George Brown College with commercial activity transitioning onto the promenade.

The promenade is an active civic space, and an integral part of the growing waterfront network. Flanked by two parks, the promenade functions as a pedestrian and cycle route, as well as a year-round venue for a variety of public events. The promenade design is an elegant interpretation of a Canadian themed public space at the water’s edge.

Unique to the project are high quality, custom designed mosaic paving, furniture and tree planting details all inspired by the Canadian iconic maple leaf. The project also involved extensive underground work, including soil cells, passive irrigation, and root aeration technology in combination with utility trenches and dock wall reinforcement.

West 8 + DTAH closely worked with the contractors on site, collaborating on pavement mock-ups and fabrication of benches and lights. As a result, East Bayfront Water’s Edge Promenade is a successful precedent project for future development along Toronto’s waterfront.

In the future, as the community develops, a slightly lowered 8m wide wooden boardwalk will be built alongside the promenade giving people another opportunity to engage with the lake. The boardwalk will be cantilevered out over the water on top of the stormwater storage tanks for the new community.

The promenade and boardwalk offer a generous amount of space along the lakefront. In addition to providing public access to the water’s edge, the boardwalk will also serve as an important part of the integrated stormwater management system in East Bayfront. This integrated approach allows required stormwater infrastructure to be beautiful, functional, sustainable and cost-effective.

Coolsingel is the promenade of Rotterdam. West 8 working with the municipality of Rotterdam has unveiled plans restore the allure of the 19th century boulevard which Rotterdam once had. The reinvigorated street profile will improve the attractiveness and success of the city center, help to catalyze new development.

The new vision, for the currently vehicular dominated boulevard, will see Coolsingel become a comfortable space for pedestrians and cyclists alike. The design vision balances traffic on the one hand while simultaneously restoring cycling, pedestrian and public transport corridors on the other, without disrupting the existing spatial and urban structure. Three lanes of Vehicular traffic will be situated east of the existing tram line (next to Lijnbaan) , while a spacious two-way bicycle and pedestrian promenade will be located on the West side of the street, adjacent to the Stadhuis. By retaining the existing tramway and underground infrastructure, emphasis can be placed the quality and allure of the public realm. Including details such as quality paving, ornamental furniture, decorated subway entrances, lighting and greenery.

West 8’s design vision also emphasises the visitor experience. Whether on foot, by bike, public transport or by car, Coolsingel will offer visitors a warm welcome. Capitalizing on the quality of the existing green space and combining it with a new high quality public space design creates a meeting place at all times of the day and in all seasons.

Framed by trees, terraces and pleasant seating areas, visitors can stroll, shop or sit on a terrace. The new street profile goes hand in hand with strengthening the imagery, and the monumental allure of the Coolsingel.

The improvements to the Coolsingel are part of the city's 'Binnenstad als City Lounge' program (Literally the City Center as a City Lounge), that aims to stimulate new development in the city center and make it more lively and attractive. Construction of the Coolsingel project is slated to begin 2017.

Coolsingel Rotterdam - West 8

Storms of the future are likely to be more intense and frequent and they certainly will be more costly to human settlement. While we cannot predict when the next big storm will come or what it will look like, we are learning about how oceans will behave, in terms of their physical dynamics (currents and waves), the habitats they support, and the interrelationship between coastal dynamics, geomorphology and habitats.
 
In June 2013, President Barack Obama announced the national competition, Rebuild by Design. Team WXY/West 8 responded with a bold, yet substantiated, approach to coastal protection. We asked ourselves: "if we had planned and designed our coasts with the dynamic effects of climate change in mind, would there have been a way to deflect storm-driven surges with a set of barrier islands located offshore?“ The results demonstrated potential for saving lives and billions of dollars across the region. 

The resulting proposal to create an offshore barrier island chain centered on the NY/NJ harbor is called “The Blue Dunes” - blue indicating their position in the open ocean and dunes for the natural landforms they mimic. The regional scale of Blue Dunes complements local projects and allows for economies of scale; complex and combined protection systems, physical coupling of on and off shore systems, enhanced feasibility of financial risk mitigation through more affordable pricing and more efficient supply of insurance, reinsurance and catastrophic bond products.

Today this proposal stands at a crossroads – we have discovered this potential for the future of coastal protection, but much work still needs to be done. The scientists, engineers, planners, economists and maritime stakeholders that have participated to date have identified the key issues that need to be addressed, including water quality, habitats, recreation, navigation, constructability, further planning and funding.

We propose the creation of an initiative, Blue Dunes Research Initiative – BDRI – to explore these issues and develop a new approach to coastal protection. The initiative seeks to ensure the safety of the citizens who live in the coastal cities of New York and New Jersey and to guarantee to the extent possible, their quality of life in the face of climate change, and co-habilitation between man and the coastal environment.  

The work needed to create the first phase of storm protection offshore will supply the regions coastal communities with new planning tools and resources; BDRI is a catalyst for creating a knowledge network and will include the entire region’s urban coastal communities, from the organizations that serve them to the scientists invested in researching them. 

West 8’s design for the 300ha Máximapark also includes a family of bridge elements, many of which feature unique detailing.

The different bridge typologies include; The Acorn Bridge, Wooden Japanese Bridges, The Lily Pond Bridge, The Ribbon Bridge, The Daisy Bridge, The pontoon Bridge and several temporary wooden bridges.

The Lily Pond Bridge
The Lily pond within Máximapark is spanned by an elegant arched bridge. An elevated icon, the bridge overlooks a large part of the Park and connects the strip of beech trees that extend from the north to the south side of the “Het Lint’’. 

The Lily pond bridge features a modular system of cast aluminum panels with an abstract daisy ornamentation. A central motif within the park, the daisy pattern also features in the precast edging and is used to demarcate the bicycle and pedestrian pathways. 

The Ribbon Bridge
The "Ribbon" is a 7m wide and 7km long path that loops around the entire park area. Like the lily pond bridge also features a modular system of cast aluminum panels with an abstract daisy ornamentation albeit on a smaller scale.

Both the Lily pond and the Ribbon bridges feature concrete edge elements that form an extension of the concrete retaining straps. These ensure the landing of the bridge connects seamlessly with the environment.

Het Binnenhof
Located in the center of the Park, ‘The 50 ha Courtyard’ features a network of waterways and channels which are crossed by two path systems. The straight paths which cross the water, are spanned by Daisy Bridges; delicate steel bridges with the iconic daisy railings.

The second path system within the ‘Binnenhof’ consists of organic wood chip paths which cross the water by means of wooden Japanese Bridges. The wooden bridges are a reinterpretation of traditional Japanese bridges painted by Hiroshige and found in the collections of the Nihonbashi Museum, Japan. Their solid form and understated configuration are a perfect complement to the natural surroundings.

To view the official Máximapark website click here.

The Parc du Moulon and Carré des Sciences (literally Science Square) is a four hectare public space project which will be built as part of the urban campus development planned on the Saclay plateau on the outskirts of Paris.

As an integral part of the urban grid, the park and square will connect adjacent programs, bringing together different populations, families, students and workers and providing a wide variety of possible activities and gathering places.

Park Moulon
Located in the heart of Moulon district, West 8’s concept for the Park is rooted in the arboreal heritage and the natural topography of the site. The design creates a mélange of environments that together form a coherent whole. It features a series of comfortable pedestrian paths along the east and west edges of the park, which help animate the ground floor of the built fabric.

The center of the park functions as an intimate and contemplative space oriented around a pond in the north and a large meadow in the south, which surrounds ‘Point F’ and will support a wide variety of program.

The highlight of the park, however is the central "meander" which celebrates Saclay's hydraulic heritage and acts as reservoir. On the one hand, the 200 m long meander enables rainwater storage for the surrounding buildings, and on the other creates an iconic meeting point for the entire community.

Carré des Sciences
South of Moulon Park, lies one of the main squares of the campus, les Carré des Sciences. The square is an extension of the forecourt of the CentraleSupélec buildings and will become a pivitol gathering place to host events related to campus life. The square will connect through to the Park and the iconic 'Point F' pavilion, linking to Joliot-Curie Street and opening out onto the wooded edge of the park plateau.

Construction of Moulon Park and Carré des Sciences is slated to begin in mid-2016 and will be delivered in phases between summer 2017 and spring 2018.

To read more able the Paris-Saclay urban campus click here.

Located at the northern boundary of Miami Beach where park meets ocean, Eighty Seven Park creates a fresh dialogue with the vibrant community of North Beach. Working in collaboration with Renzo Piano Building Workshop, West 8 has designed a series of private, public, and semi-public spaces for a residential tower that are inspired by the site’s extraordinary setting and the lush tropical landscapes of South Florida.

Extending right up to the edge of property and adjoining a newly-invigorated North Shore Open Space Park, the design seamlessly brings together architecture, city, and the natural landscape.

Creating a dialogue between private and public, natural and manmade, and indoor and outdoor spaces is fundamental to West 8’s design.  In the 1.5-acre private garden on the north side of the property, two elegant water features and a series of intimate foot paths introduce a language of minimalist linearity that stands in contrast to the rich and varied palette of tropical foliage. Narrow channels of water reflect the sun and pull the eye toward the expanse of the Atlantic Ocean.

Eighty Seven Park is situated on the waterfront in an area that would naturally exist as a dune ecosystem. West 8’s design preserves and enhances this natural coastal condition but acknowledges the urban conditions that characterize the site today. The planting palette has been carefully curated, guided by a biotope zoning plan, to achieve site-appropriate planting that is visually and spatially stunning. 

The success of the design lies in simple and bold interventions that are rooted in a deep appreciation of the site’s ecological and cultural significance. Its adjacency to the park and ocean, convenient access to the city, and unique coastal ecology—and brings them into harmony to create an urban Eden.

In developing the North Shore Open Space Park Vision Plan, West 8 conducted extensive research, analyzed the site and context, and engaged with stakeholders and city staff to understand current park issues as well as priorities and goals for future park improvements.

Through this process, West 8 identified several key challenges that the plan would address, such as overgrown plantings, poor sight lines and safety concerns, worn-out facilities, and a lack of programming. Concurrent to the Vision Plan, West 8 conducted a detailed study of the West Lots, considering building typologies, streetscapes, and the relationship between new development and an enhanced North Shore Open Space Park (NSOSP).

The result is a deep, holistic understanding of the park and the larger North Beach neighborhood and a vision that is underpinned by a series of design principles that establish the foundation for the main elements of the park and further define its identity within North Beach.

West 8 design vision will establishes a future framework that will
- Anchor the Park into an improved urban Framework
- Curate and preserve the Park’s natural costal condition and ecology
- Provide a series of alluring walkways
- Frame the Park with a ‘great welcome’
- Enhance and consolidate programming and uses

Having been awarded the Design Services for the Park, West 8 together with CGA will begin to develop the Vision Plan into a reality from 2016 onwards. Transforming the Park into a more connected, beautiful and functional landmark that meets the aspirations of the local community and the City.

Entitled 'Harbour Landing' KPMB Architects / West 8 / Greenberg Consultants winning proposal fuses the revamped Ferry Terminal and Harbour Square Park into one special new place on the harbour. To create a dynamic and animated public space for all seasons.

'Harbour Landing' defies simple categorization – a ferry terminal, an urban park for active water-based activities, a retreat and an oasis for office workers and residents. The park is an urban getaway for people living along the waterfront and an introduction to the waterfront for visitors to Toronto. The design vision re-imagines Harbour Landing as an integral part of a continuous network of renewed public space that envelops the site.

The organic form of the park with rolling hillocks, whose gently sloping topography elevated from street level, offers visitors dramatic harbour views and a panoramic backdrop of the Toronto Islands. The landscape approach is also echoed in the design of the Ferry Terminal, and its undulating rooftop extends the park experience. The terminal’s green roof is universally accessible via gently sloping ramps. The ‘gained park space’ provides an irresistible belvedere from which the public can survey the shoreline. 

The new Park and Ferry Terminal will become a central feature of Toronto, a “landing” place where the city meets the lake. 'Harbour Landing' works in 360 degrees, addressing both the landside and waterside and is poised to become a new icon for the city and a counterbalance to the urban life at the Toronto Waterfront.

West 8’s Master Plan for Houston Botanic Garden articulates the potential future for the Garden over the coming decades. The Plan takes its inspiration and structure from the best qualities of the existing site, and gives forethought to the biggest environmental challenges: flooding and intense weather events. The Sims Bayou and the Bayou Meander serve as framing devices that protect and enhance the experience of the gardens and the bayou. With these water bodies as a site-organizers, the Garden is divided into two main precincts: the Island and the South Gardens.

The design proposes lifting the existing topography to elevate the gardens and permanent structures out of the flood plain.  The South Gardens is the place of arrival for all visitors. It features an open lawn which is a relaxing, day-to-day place for picnics and strolling, but also supports community events. A hike/bike trail extends along Glenview Drive, with a proposed section along Sims Bayou that would connect the Garden to the extensive network of Greater Houston hike and bike trails.  

The Island will be dominated by gardens, both naturalistic and cultivated. These gardens provide year-round beauty, delight the senses, and educate young and old alike. A conservatory building extends the plant repertoire to provide a setting for exotic plants from tropical climates. Visitor-oriented amenities like educational facilities, an events pavilion, a café, and a lecture hall, are strategically located to provide destinations and provisions for guests. All of these are linked by an extensive network of pathways, many of which offer shade and are weather-protected by colonnades.

By weaving together shady pathways, a mosaic of ever-changing gardens, the bayou and other water bodies, West 8’s Master Plan for Houston Botanic Garden amplifies the potential of the site’s qualities and unites the site into a coherent, “only-in-Houston,” garden experience.

Working with Drexel University and master developer Brandywine Realty Trust, SHoP and West 8 will transform 14 acres of existing underutilized land with 6.5 acres of public open space to create a collaborative mixed-use neighborhood in west Philadelphia’s. Schuylkill Yards will feature a mix of 24/7 entrepreneurial spaces, educational facilities and research laboratories, corporate offices, residential and retail spaces, hospitality and cultural venues, as well as a robust public realm network that connects the existing neighborhoods with the adjacent Amtrak 30^th Street Station.

Situated next to the third-busiest passenger rail station in the country, Schuylkill Yards will be connected to Philadelphia’s international airport and major cities along the Northeast corridor, making it a major innovation hub on the East Coast.

The plan envisions a new gateway to University City —one that is dynamic, diverse, open and inviting. Central to the scheme is a reimagined One Drexel Plaza, which will become the catalyst for the project as a start-up incubator attached to a new 1.3 acre multi-functional public space, Drexel Square.

In order to achieve a unified and enduring district identity through each successive phase of the project, the design of the district’s streets and public spaces have been highly defined while the design of the individual buildings allow for variation and diversity as parcels get developed over time. The district streets will serve as the public realm plan’s connective tissue, linking one part of the neighborhood to another to make a cohesive whole out of many distinct elements. The proposed street network includes major improvements to the neighborhood’s existing streets, as well as the addition of new streets and pedestrian connections to establish a highly porous circulation network that promotes walking, bicycling, transit, and the use of streets as spaces for social interaction.

The outstanding public realm of Schuylkill Yards will be a catalyst and inspiration for future development, setting the stage for what will become one of Philadelphia’s most dynamic and vibrant urban neighborhoods.

Currently an enormous parking lot that separates the Lower Hill neighborhood from downtown, the proposed 30-acre master plan for the Lower Hill District challenges traditional planning models and strives to reconnect the district to its rich context. Instead of placing streets and buildings and having open space respond to the residual spaces, the design prioritizes the landscape and the pedestrian realm as frameworks for the neighborhood. This, in turn, sets the datum for circulation and building layout.

By prioritizing pedestrians over buildings, the plan creates a vibrant mixed use neighborhood that leverages the site’s assets. It mitigates the steep terrain with a unique network of universally accessible paths. Inspired by the Allegheny Plateau vernacular, the new landscapes including Crawford Courts, Balcony Park, Wylie Plaza, Lower Hill Green and CAP Park create a vivid sensation of nature in the city. 

As a result, the plan utilizes time-tested planning principles with a unique, site specific twist that makes it feel both contemporary and timeless.  

Located in the heart of Moscow, Tverskaya Street is the main and probably best-known radial street in Moscow. With its unique scale, the streetscape of Tverskaya expresses sentiments of victory: most of the buildings were re-built after war and their architecture is full of pathos. Powerful neo-classical palazzos are situated next to luxurious Stalin-era shops and restaurants. Since the post-Soviet period the capital’s splendor attracted new investments, which become part of Tverskaya Street image today: triumphant, stately, vehicle dominated, ceremonial, and luxurious.

The Tverskaya Street Revitalization project is the result of a strategic alliance between the public and private sectors. West 8 together with Strelka and Moscow Government, have worked intensively on the new profile of the street, which is intended to create a green passage and well connected urban boulevard that also acts as a comfortable space for pedestrians.

Optimizing pedestrian and vehicular traffic

For centuries, Tverskaya was a great welcome to Moscow's city center. In the early 20th century it became a wonderful and prestigious boulevard. Nowadays Tverskaya Street is considered Moscow’s Champs-Élysées, it has a similar attitude and appearance – frequent parades, festivals, and luxurious shops are line this expensive shopping street. It is the centre of the city's nightlife and entertainment. However, in its present state it is completely dominated by cars.

Authorities of Moscow intend to stop the process of urban erosion, namely the vehicular dominated traffic and courageously giving space back to pedestrian and vital programs of the plinth. Based on the recently updated Moscow Government Transport Department's traffic scheme, West 8’s new design optimizes and reorganized the pedestrian space along the facades. Pedestrian plinths would be extended to 3 meters to 3.25 meters wide correspondingly. It will provide safe and pleasant pedestrian access to all the ground floor amenities. Materials are carefully selected to demonstrate the class of the place. By doing so a new identity will also be created with timelessness and authenticity, which remind us the legacy of this world class place.

Creating natural urban landscape

Another feature of West 8’s new design is to bring back greenery to this main gateway of Moscow. The reconfigured boulevard will provide pedestrians with shade and a sense of seasonality. This project is transforming Tverskaya from an undefined and uncomfortable traffic dominated urban street into a world-class city space, a dignified destination in the heart of Moscow.

The design incorporated innovative and advanced engineering solutions, including root protective irrigation systems that will improve the survival rate of new trees, custom made paving materials and durable custom-designed urban furniture.

Construction of the renovation will commence in April 2016 and is scheduled to complete in November 2016.

The Silvertown Quays development is a dense mixed used commercial, office and residential redevelopment surrounding the former Pontoon Dock adjacent to Royal Victoria Dock.  Historically the Royal Docks have been a gateway between London and its global markets. When the docks were closed for industrial purposes in the 1980s, the area lost its economic rationale. The urban landscape became blighted by large chunks of vacant brown fields, with poor access, dereliction and contamination. Existing and new community developments were isolated, fractured and economically deprived.
 
To redefine the eastern docklands, not as somewhere at the edge of London but as a new piece of the city, with its own centre of gravity and with a clear identity of its own, West 8, in the role of landscape architect and urban designer, joined the team led by lead masterplanner Fletcher Priest Architects, to revive the vitality with a 25ha. vibrant urban quarter. The area, will consist of 3000 new homes, cultural premises, offices and high-end branding and retail.

The team intends to transform the site into a world-class business centre: a world-leader in high technology, green enterprise and research and an international forum for the exchange of knowledge and ideas. The waterfront site is envisaged as a hub of activity and a thriving leisure destination for Londoners and visitors alike. 

The landscape strategy includes the establishment of a range of focal districts, linked by key open spaces at the junction of main routes and streets. New iconic public spaces include squares, parks, plazas, the Dock and the waterfront promenade.  Also various smaller public spaces, all situated at strategically arranged positions, help define the new urban experience and create a sense of place and act as lively junctions for users of the variously programmed surrounding development blocks.