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SWT Design vol. 2 Parks, Trails, Greenways
A well-designed space contains more than the present moment; it embraces the history of a place and holds potential for what it will one day become – in the world, and in the hearts and minds of our communities. Think back to your fondest memories. Chances are, many of these moments take place outdoors. A walk in the woods. A day relaxing in the park. A lunch outside on some sunny boulevard. At SWT, these are the spaces we are proud to create – spaces that nurture. Spaces that inspire. Spaces that live. Our clients are in the business of changing the world. We are, too. With every project, with every space, we set out to create urban landscapes and environments that improve the lives of people, businesses, communities, and our world. Our team is made of landscape architects, planners, and designers. We come together each day to create spaces that exist outside the bounds of size or discipline. We create spaces that live on – in the world and in the hearts and minds of communities.
It is design for living. It is LIVING DESIGNTM
We enrich lives by creating places for people. The parks and recreation industry is one of the most fun, engaging, and rewarding industries in which our firm has the privilege of working. Parks and open space have the ability to reduce childhood obesity, neutralize a growing epidemic of stressrelated illness, bring pride to a community, and support rich biodiversity of wildlife habitat - all of this possible in one singular park, or a system of parks within a community.
Because only living design can change lives and make our world a better place.
Planning, regardless of scale, provides a roadmap for implementation. Creating places for people starts at the human scale. And when it comes to parks and open space, good planning and design account for both communities and the people who live, work, visit, and play in them. Planning for such parks, trails, and greenways is a collaborative process between consultant and community. Transparent and inclusive engagement is crucial to developing a successful park, parks system, trail network, or greenway. In the end, the most successful planning efforts are those that lead to a built space for people to enjoy. Our team incorporates best practices, decades of experience, and research into every plan to ensure that every design is implementable and supported by smart funding and operational strategies.
Smart planning ensures implementation. On average, SWT Design has approximately 85 percent of its park plans implemented.
A crossroads of recreation, culture, nature & infrastructure. Central Fields in Forest Park, St. Louis, MO Forest Park is recognized as one of the region’s most important assets and is nationally known as a success story for its private-public partnerships. Central Fields represents the crossroads of the park where recreation, culture, nature, hydrology, roadways, infrastructure and beauty come together. This project will be a turning point to restore, repurpose, protect and re-imagine the Central Fields.
One of the keys to success is the multi-purpose approach to space utilization and design. Another is to provide the necessary infrastructure to support special events, team sports and passive activities while preserving and enhancing the beauty of the park.
Adaptive reuse creates a revitalized community park. Derby Parks Master Plan, Derby, KS The Derby Parks Master Plan includes two major projects: Madison Avenue Central Park, a 10-acre property that was previously a Catholic church and school complex; and Warren Riverview Park, a 3-acre property along the Arkansas River. Through interaction with the local residents, it was discovered that the former Catholic property (now Madison Avenue Central Park) had great value for creating an iconic gathering space for the community. The plan reutilizes two existing building structures for a multi-purpose facility and classrooms. The end result will include a revitalized landscape, re-contouring the land with bioswales and native habitats. Other amenities include a central pavilion and a large gathering space for special events.
Formerly-owned private property was able to be repurposed and revitalized into this new iconic gathering space for the community.
An interpretive, educational experience of conservation. The Audubon Center at The Riverlands, West Alton, MO The Audubon Center at the Riverlands consists of 3,700 acres of conservation area dedicated to the preservation of migratory bird habitat for nearly 50 bird species, making it one of the most biologically significant sites of its kind. Centrally located on the Great Rivers Confluence Important Bird Area (IBA) within the Mississippi River Flyway, the center offers visitors a unique and immersive experience to explore and discover diverse wildlife 365-days a year.
The final master plan embodies the vision of the National and Missouri Audubon Society of habitat conservation. It offers visitors a unique opportunity to observe wildlife from an intimate perspective within their own natural environment.
Showcase and respect the unique natural beauty of Missouri’s newest state park. Echo Bluff State Park, Shannon County, MO The development of Missouri’s newest state park is the result of a 4-month planning process. The park has been envisioned as a major regional, state and national destination. To guide the design process, the team established a series of project goals, which were used to evaluate the design and express specific images of what the park can be. The following project goals were established to guide the planning effort: 1. Create a one of a kind, 365 days a year, Missouri Ozark experience 2. Showcase and respect the unique natural beauty of the site 3. Focus on sustainable development with a low impact design approach 4. Embrace the past and design for the future 5. Promote local, regional, and national connectivity
Dramatic limestone bluffs and crystalclear waters are a backdrop for a new state park in the heart of the Missouri Ozarks.
An urban park system planned for longevity and legacy. Shaw Park Master Plan, Clayton, MO The master plan developed for Shaw Park established four main goals to insure it meets the vision of future development of the park: improve the park system and networks, improve physical and visual connectivity, develop multipurpose improvements that support varied program and educational opportunities, and enhance the aesthetics and functionality of the park by incorporating sustainable, maintainable development.
Phase one implementation of the master plan began in 2016 to further develop the overall plan and develop the north entry.
Planning for a responsive, community-driven parks district. JCPRD Legacy Plan, Johnson County, KS Fifteen years of change in Johnson County has prompted the need to build a stronger, more focused park and recreation district able to meet the needs of a growing county. The Johnson County of 2015 is a different county than it was when the last comprehensive parks and recreation strategic plan was prepared in 2000. In the 15 years since the MAP 2020 plan, Johnson County has grown not just in total population, but has become a more diverse community with rising interests in natural resources and active living. During this same period, the landscape of parks and recreation within Johnson County has seen a significant evolution both at the municipal and district levels, as well as within the private sector.
Following the approval of the plan, 0.75 Mill of the 3.3 Mill Levy increase will now support JCPRD - the first mill levy increase in a decade.
Emergent networks come together to preserve a cultural landscape. CityArchRiver O+M Cost Analysis, St. Louis, MO The CityArchRiver (CAR) Operations + Maintenance (O+M) Cost Analysis is the launching point for the consistent and flexible care needed to preserve the integrity of Dan Kiley’s original design intentions for the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial grounds, and to ensure the long-term viability of the CAR 2015 project renovations. More importantly, the Cost Analysis is the first step in the long journey to keep the CAR project relevant to city residents and visitors who activate downtown St. Louis, attracting more than $350 million and 4,400 permanent jobs experts estimate may come to the region.
The O+M Cost Analysis, intentionally produced in a form that can be revisited, revised, and re-released, is a foundational component of a larger Vision Plan, which also contains strategic and enterprise business modules.
With implementation in mind, we design for longevity. Parks provide a great asset to communities as part of their overall infrastructure. They provide active and passive recreational opportunities for residents and visitors. They protect, conserve, and sometimes create new habitat for wildlife. And in many cases, our parks serve as green infrastructure for stormwater management. Because of the multiple functions our parks serve, they are usually a major investment for city leaders. Whether improving an existing park, or developing a new trail system, these assets require significant time and capital to ensure they are implemented properly. Throughout the planning and design process, we work to understand both the short- and long-term needs of the community. This ensures that, after the project is complete and in the ground, the design will outlast several generations.
Because they are such a major capital investment for city leaders, parks, trails, and greenways must be designed with consideration for how they will look and function decades from now.
Celebrating a regional icon through historical restoration. St. Louis Art Museum - Art Hill, St. Louis, MO For more than 100 years, the Saint Louis Art Museum has stood atop Forest Park as a physical and prominent reminder of the 1904 World’s Fair. The museum and its site, known now as Art Hill, served as the fair’s center piece and became the focal point of the 1,200-acre park. To honor the fair’s centennial celebration, a parkwide revitalization effort brought improvements to Art Hill that would restore the space to its former grandeur, and create a new iconic front door to the museum.
The improvements to Art Hill have only bolstered the prominence of what was already considered an established icon.
Making the city a more enjoyable place to live. Brightside Demonstration Garden, St. Louis, MO Many city residents do not have an opportunity to experience the beauty of nature; in many cases, their understanding of nature is limited to what they experience through various forms of media. Founded more than 30 years ago as a grass roots effort, Brightside St. Louis, formerly known as Operation Brightside, tasked itself with bringing this beauty back to city residents through shared community landscapes. The garden serves as an educational tool for urban residents to discover art, natural habitat and sustainable design best practices. As a nonprofit, Brightside St. Louis relied on donor funding and volunteer efforts to help bring this project to fruition.
More than $500,000 was raised as a result of this planning effort. A majority of implementation was donated by military service men and women.
A trail that blends active recreation, history, and ecology. Grant’s Trail Extension, St. Louis, MO Grant’s Trail is a paved multi-use recreation trail located within an abandoned right-of-way of the Missouri Pacific Railroad line. Offering a natural setting in an urban area, the trail extends over 11 miles and includes trailheads, connections to education and interpretive sites, and a community park. As part of a later phase, the trail was extended 5 miles in order to take advantage of key cultural and historically significant points of interest along the right-of-way.
In addition to serving as a recreational amenity, the trail also emphasizes the importance of habitat enhancement and wildlife corridors along the right-of-way.
Promote a higher quality of life.
Indian Camp Creek Park, St. Charles, MO Indian Camp Creek Park is located in the prime of St. Charles County’s natural landscape. Within the Cuiver River watershed and at the intersection of Big Creek and Indian Camp Creek, the 582-acre park is an extremely environmentally sensitive area with optimal environmental health and much environmental significance. SWT Design was commissioned to prepare a Master Plan Confirmation which included revising and re-evaluating the existing program for the park. The goal of the design was to provide St. Charles County with several passive and active recreational opportunities as well as an attractive outdoor environment.
Celebrate heritage, illustrate the depth of existing ecologies, and improve for future generations to enjoy.
Timeless details coalesce to create an identity for this emerging community. Dardenne Prairie City Hall Park, Dardenne Prairie, MO Prior to the development of City Hall Park, residents of Dardenne Prairie did not have a communal space in which to gather for recreation and events. Former plans had been developed that neither reflected the values of this historic farming community nor contributed to its future family-oriented identity. As part of this growth, city leaders desired to establish a built image for the community throughout the public realm using materials and furnishings that provided stability and historic context. Despite the economic downturn, community excitement for the park prompted the board to build the park in its entirety. The goal was to create a destination that would bring together families and citizens of all ages. This was done through layering of programs and park uses to create a vibrant place for all seasons.
With a community this engaged in its future, it’s exciting to work with a community so engaged in the design process. It’s easy to empathize with the residents - their goals become your goals.
An elementary school embraces outdoor learning and recreation. Forsyth School Campus Master Plan and Implementation, St. Louis, MO With the population and demographics of Forsyth School continually expanding, school leadership understood the need to expand its facilities and offer its students additional opportunities to blend education with play and outdoor recreation. The master plan for the campus organized program elements in a way that designated areas for different age groups while improving circulation. Entry points provide prominent gateways into the campus gathering spaces, leading children, parents and faculty along a cohesive circulation network.
The school encourages outdoor learning and active recreation throughout the school day. A new FieldTurf soccer field, courts, and a running track are a prominent feature of the overall campus design.
Inclusive design encourages play, therapy and interaction among all ages and abilities. Discovery Playground at Jaycee Park, St. Charles, MO Discovery Playground is a supportive, inclusive environment realized through the collaboration of public private partnerships. SWT Design worked with these partners to develop a play experience that goes beyond the extents of the play surface. Designed into a hillside within Jaycee Park, Discovery Playground provides inclusive play, therapy, and interaction opportunities for children and adults of all ages and abilities. The play structures were designed with a ramping system from one tier to the next allowing all visitors to experience the same spatial relationships.
Accessibility was the primary focus while designing this inclusive park, especially providing recreation opportunities and bringing people of all ages and abilities together in play.
An immersive exhibit of the food we eat. “GROW” Urban Agriculture Gallery at The St. Louis Science Center, St. Louis, MO The St. Louis Science Center has embarked on a mission to bring the charged topic of agriculture to the general population through the lens of science. In this exhibit, everything is real – from the food, to hydrology, to the science used in production. The goal of the exhibit is to create a visitor experience of both the historical and contemporary issues surrounding agriculture, and to provide this experience to a broad age range and demographic group. The exhibit highlights the scalability of food production, from large rural farms to small urban operations, focusing on pollinators, hydrology, nutrient cycles, and soil health. Above all, the exhibit accomplishes the mission of the Science Center – to create exhibits that are fun and educational.
The exhibit brings the full life cycle of food production to city residents who may not otherwise have knowledge of our agricultural system.
Nondescript and underutilized open space becomes a sanctuary for art. Webster Groves Sculpture Garden, Webster Groves, MO Situated within a compact, half-acre site along one of the city’s major corridors, the Webster Groves Sculpture Garden serves as a gateway for the city and provides its residents a place in which they can gather, and enjoy nature and curated works of art. The garden contributes to and enhances the overall identity of the community, transforming what was a nondescript, underutilized open space into a composition of native weathered fieldstone walls, and bold landscape gestures that bring seasonal interest. Five unique pieces of sculpture support the promotion of public art as an amenity.
A sculpture garden that quickly became both a destination and an asset for the community.
Parks and open space play a significant role in habitat creation and conservation. It’s true. We do create places that enrich people’s lives. But in almost all cases, these places, especially parks, greenways, and trails, have a unique ability to enrich our natural environment. They can protect and conserve native species and encourage biodiversity. New parks can heal and repair even the most damaged landscapes. Our core philosophy, Living Design, is about finding the correct and most appropriate balance between designing places for people and our natural environment, where, if done correctly, fits seemlessly in any community and region.
Even the smallest of parks found in a densely populated metropolitan area can provide rich habitat, encourage biodiversity, and contribute to greater environmental sustainability.
An urban park serves as a model for green infrastructure. The Commons at Cortex Innovation Community, St. Louis, MO The development of the Cortex Commons and streetscapes is to serve as a blueprint for the development of the district on the whole. Low impact development strategies are emphasized in the design, particularly green stormwater infrastructure. The design team worked to secure match funding through the MSD Green Infrastructure Early Action Projects program to incorporate bioretention areas, rain gardens, curb inlets, and underground stormwater storage. These elements are prominently featured in the landscape and, through signage, provide educational opportunities as well.
Far too often, green infrastructure is not much more inviting or accessible than the conventional infrastructure it replaced. Areas of the Commons are designed to specifically encourage the enjoyment of rain gardens and other best management practices, while still providing important infrastructure functions.
Fit seamlessly in an environment that is of the place. Indian Camp Creek Park, St. Charles, MO In some cases, a well-designed space can appear as if it was never touched by human hands. Each moment is intentional, but given time to establish, fits seamlessly in an environment that is of the place. At Indian Camp Creek Park, active and passive recreational opportunities sit within more than 580 acres of reestablished prairie and wetland habitats. Preservation of open space allows for an environment that is healthy and rich in biodiversity; monarch butterflies have returned to healthy population levels. Respect is given to the historical heritage of what once was, and brings new purpose to a nearly 100-year old homestead. Indian Camp Creek Park continues to enhance the quality of life of a community, county and region within the Cuiver River watershed.
Celebrate heritage, illustrate the depth of existing ecologies, and improve for future generations to enjoy.
A linear creek corridor now mitigating flooding of this urban waterway. Boneyard Creek North Branch Improvements, Champaign, IL The Boneyard Creek is a highly impacted, urban waterway, and is a frequent source of flooding in surrounding neighborhoods. Earlier phases of work have focused on the creation of parks and open spaces that could double as detention areas to mitigate flooding. This phase of work focuses more on the linear creek corridor as a natural system, but also as a recreation amenity. The creek and trail are developed to provide maximum flood mitigation, while maximizing on opportunities for trail users to experience and enjoy new natural areas. These nature spaces feature seating nodes, boardwalks, interpretive signage, and educational pavilions distributed along the length of the trail. In addition, four city parks are connected along the creek and greenway. The improvement corridor serves to activate and introduce additional programming elements and water areas into these underutilized spaces.
At 1.75 miles, the North Branch of the Boneyard Creek celebrates green infrastructure as an amenity by improving the health of the corridor.
Lake improvements restore a community park and improves water quality. Des Peres Park Lake Improvements, Des Peres, MO As a direct outcome of the park’s master plan completed by SWT Design, improvements to Des Peres Lake provided innovative stormwater management best practices to restore this heavily used community park. During construction, the lake was dredged for sedimentation that had built up over 30 years and subsequently used on-site to create a large mounded area in the park. As another way to educate the community about aquatic plants, fish habitat, and stormwater runoff, interpretive signs were strategically placed close to the lake edge.
The renovation of Des Peres Lake incorporates a forebay and aquatics to provide a biological filter. The result is a restored lake system and improved park amenity.
Design rooted in sustainability can enrich the legacy of a city. “Full Circle” CityArchRiver Design Competition, St. Louis, MO ‘Full Circle’ defines an embracing vision for two cities, one park, and one river – and creates a new model for a sustainable urban waterfront. The solution offers a clear and resilient design that galvanizes the complex social, economic and technical conditions into an attainable vision. SWT Design was a local partner on the Weiss Manfredi Team which submitted one of the most thorough and comprehensive plans in this international design competition and placed among the top three. ‘Full Circle’ was conceived as a regenerative process of urban and ecological renewal, intended to radically transform the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. The design would catalyze positive development throughout the entire region.
“Full Circle” proposed a clear and resilient design that galvanized the complex social, economic, and technical conditions of the area into a clear and attainable vision.
Designing for the long-term means finding inspiration in the details. A paving pattern inspired by genomic research occurring within an innovation district. Design vernacular that celebrates a community’s rich farming history. Native materials that support a regional ecosystem. To develop spaces truly meant to enrich people’s lives, every detail of the design must be considered if the place is to be successful for multiple generations to come.
We take time to research and understand how people use space, and then apply this performancebased knowledge to create meaningful parks and open space.
Inspiration is in the details.
Details within The Commons keep district residents, employees, and visitors discovering new things with each visit. Concepts were inspired by scientific research and innovation occurring within the district to enhance its overall brand and identity.
History is our best storyteller. Because of its location at the juncture of two major waterways, the site of Indian Camp Creek Park was inhabited by Mississippian Indians more than 10,000 years ago. They were eventually replaced by frontier settlers - the design of the park embraces this history and tells its story through preservation.
Details support an identity and creates an immersive experience. Sensitive and engaging design is immersive. Materials are selected to reflect the site’s natural ecosystem. Every detail, from lighting standards to sculpture and seat walls, is carefully designed to create an experience. At the Saint Louis Zoo, visitors begin this experience as soon as they arrive in the main parking lot.
Design supports education and encourages discovery. Every project comes with an opportunity to engage all senses and encourage discovery with each visit. At the Saint Louis Science Center’s “GROW” exhibit, the cycle of food production is illustrated through interactive exhibits and true-to-life farming equipment.
Incorporate public art into the landscape. In many cases, the design of a public space is itself a reflection of art - the curvilinear line of retaining wall, the juxtaposition of two materials, or the balance of color. However, as with the Webster Groves Sculpture Garden, artistic expression also supports the inclusion of public art within the landscape.
Design is a living, breathing thing. Curiosity and learning fuel it. We never stop learning. We never stop discovering. And what we learn, we share because curiosity makes us question. It keeps us ahead of what’s possible. With two studios in St. Louis and Kansas City, our practice is national with far reaching impacts. Good design transcends boundaries. And we’re eager to share how. So follow us. Connect with us. Let us know what Living Design means to you.
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