SWT Design makes substantial efforts to consider the environmental, economic, and social impacts of each of our design decisions. As designers, it is not only our responsibility to evaluate the impact of change on a particular site for our clients, but it is also just as critical to consider the effects and potential opportunities for change at larger scales. Cities wrestle daily with urban issues such as decline, revitalization, infrastructure and sustainability, making it important to consider opportunities that address these issues at multiple scales. Each project, client and site is an opportunity to encourage big-picture thinking and challenge the existing patterns of development in our communities. Remember, every design decision and alteration we make on the built environment has a compounding effect on the community, region and world. Design projects allow us opportunities to address the needs of the site and our clients, as well as to set examples and create catalysts for change. Creation of policy, incentives and a clear framework assist in guiding development in cohesive and consistent directions.
SWT Design approaches projects with an understanding of these larger influences and strives to present opportunities for positive change with regional outcomes. As urban designers and landscape architects, we actively practice “thinking big and starting small” with projects’ measurable improvements extending beyond the sites’ boundaries to regional systems, watersheds, ecologies, infrastructure and the environment.
