Waterfronts

The evolving relationship between the city and the water’s edge poses one of the great design challenges of our time. As industrial uses have receded, cities around the world have sought to create a sustainable vision for a post-industrial waterfront. Our experience in designing waterfronts throughout the world has taught us that great waterfronts begin with understanding the water itself.

great waterfronts begin with understanding the water

We begin with a water plan, which is key to understanding the potential for the landside. Designing at the water’s edge invariably involves layers of complex physical and regulatory constraints. We have worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the EPA, FEMA and state DEPs to craft innovative solutions that balance environmental standards with economic constraints and market realities. Working with port authorities, economic development agencies, and private developers, we have a record of success securing approvals on some of the most prominent waterfront sites in the U.S. and abroad. This record of innovation and success has continued in our work creating mixed-use developments along waterfronts in settings as diverse as Baltimore Inner Harbor East, Rainbow Harbor in Long Beach, California, and Shanghai’s Huangpu River.