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3131 Western Avenue, Suite M423
Seattle, Washington 98121 T: 206-632-2038 | F: 206-632-2048 info@swiftcompany.com |
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History
Swift Company has established an international reputation for excellence and innovation in the pursuit of exceptional design solutions for challenging social and environmental circumstances. Acknowledgement of the firm’s commitment to excellence has resulted in awards, commissions, articles, and requests for public service since the inception of the firm in 1982. Our staff of landscape architects and urban designers has pursued the tradition of studio collaboration and rigorous exploration. We take pleasure in questions that require multiple disciplines and strategic thinking. What if…? What is essential? Does this fit? Is it poetry? We offer generous, well-considered solutions. |
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Passion
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Passion
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Barbara Swift | Principal
barbara@swiftcompany.com Barbara’s enthusiasm for landscape architecture and urban design is contagious. As a skilled and seasoned practitioner, she is committed to creating powerful places that resonate over time. Barbara is known for strategic thinking and work with diverse circumstances from urban systems to wild landscapes. Barbara’s innovative work has been acknowledged with multiple awards and fellowships. Her commitment is evidenced in years of service with the Seattle Design commission, Seattle Arts Commission, and the ARCADE Journal. |
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Lisa Corry | Project Manager + Landscape Architect
lisa@swiftcompany.com With projects ranging from Grand Teton National Park to Seattle’s Civic Center plazas, Lisa enjoys the many facets of landscape architectural design. Since receiving a BLA from the University of Washington in 1990, Lisa has worked in the planning and design of public spaces. Lisa was instrumental in transforming her neighborhood school’s asphalt lot into a public green space, and is currently enjoying her fourth year as a volunteer art docent in the Seattle Public Schools. |
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Caitlin Evans | Project Manager + Landscape Architect
caitlin@swiftcompany.com Caitlin Evans has focused on sustainable landscapes for over 20 years. As a site designer and project manager, her work has ranged from large public projects to finely crafted residences. She is pleased to have worked on several publicly-funded educational projects that build community awareness of urban watershed issues. Caitlin’s work creates connections between individuals and landscapes, inspiring others to protect and preserve environmental health. |
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Alison Maitland Scheetz | Site Designer
alison@swiftcompany.com Alison is always good for an opinion with a British sense of humor and passion for landscape architecture. Her respect for larger landscapes and those of a more intimate, human scale come from her academic grounding in geography and life in Hong Kong. She currently works on diverse projects, from conceptual design to construction administration. Alison has studied for a MLA at the University of Washington, worked for the Seattle Design Commission and produced the Arts Master Plan for Crown Hill Neighborhood. |
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Elizabeth Browning | Site Designer
liz@swiftcompany.com With an MLA from the University of Washington in 2005, Liz has worked on site design, urban design and planning, and large-scale land planning projects. Using her interdisciplinary humanities background, she works to tell the story of place with narratives of history and culture in design. Well-versed in graphics technology, Liz enjoys experimenting with design communication. |
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Noelle Higgins | Site Designer
noelle@swiftcompany.com Born and raised in Dublin, Noelle moved to Seattle in 1993. Her love of the urban environment and interest in multi-culturalism have fueled her aesthetic and directed her research in sustainable urban communities. Before receiving her MLA at the University of Washington in 2007, she worked nationally and internationally with glass and conceptual artists as a project manager and designer. Noelle feels fortunate to be constantly challenged by the range of projects in the office. |
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Amy Lindemuth | Site Designer
amy@swiftcompany.com With a background in anthropology and years spent in the high desert of New Mexico, Amy appreciates the larger processes which connect natural, cultural, and urban landscapes. Her interests are in creating healthy, sustainable spaces that engage users with each visit. Amy has worked on a variety of projects from regional and community parks to streetscapes and campus design. She is inspired by design innovations that are holistic and culturally responsive in approach. |
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Gareth Loveridge | Site Designer
gareth@swiftcompany.com Originally from the Canadian prairies, Gareth has been working in Landscape Architecture in Seattle since 2000. With broad interests ranging from visual communications to developing innovative landscape solutions, Gareth brings diverse experience in complex urban design projects. He is driven by a holistic approach to deliver thoughtful, sound design solutions that enrich the human experience. |
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Writings > On specific design projects
Select a link to download an article as a PDF file. Discovery Park Habitat Improvement “Fresh Fields” Landscape Architecture, Dec 1996. Maple Valley Library “Breaking New Ground” Gardens Illustrated, Oct 2002. “Reading in the Wilderness” Landscape Architecture, Jan 2003. Seattle Civic Center “Governing Green” Landscape Architecture, Feb 2002. “Gathering Space” Landscape Architecture, Feb 2002. “Seattle Civic Center Plaza” Civic Builders. 2002-2003. |
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Process
Planning and design are universal activities. We all define, develop and implement projects in our daily lives; we analyze circumstances, synthesize issues, define criteria, and test solutions. Similarly, planning and design for the physical environment follow the same path. Early collaboration aids identification of the key issues, and results in innovative, elegant solutions. We craft multidisciplinary teams that pursue an integrated systems approach. Clients and community representatives are central members of the team. Our collaborative design process is highly valued by our clients, and we strive to build lasting relationships. Our goal is to create simple, clear designs of durable materials, and fluid systems that remain relevant and vital over time. |
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Services > Community Facilitation
The process of facilitating a discussion does more than resolve divergent interests. A clear and open public process results in a solution that can become part of the community fabric—a solution that survives and thrives over time. Those who use a place know it best. Designers rely on this knowledge to create a place that works. Responsiveness, reliability and availability are key components to successful facilitation. |
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Services > Conceptual Design
Project design begins with a conceptual effort that establishes critical frameworks, goals and objectives. The full spectrum of experiences is integrated in the consideration of a conceptual design. The conceptual strategy guides development at all levels and stages of design. |
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Services > Construction Administration
Construction administration is critical for assuring that the intent of the design and the client’s needs are realized. It involves regular visits with the contractor on the construction site, reviews of shop drawings and submissions, and visits to suppliers to make sure that the final product meets the project’s goals. |
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Services > Construction Documents
The construction document phase involves the development of technical drawings and specifications used to bid, negotiate, and build a project. A final cost estimate assures that the project will be built within the project budget. Construction documents are tailored to each project, to accommodate the specific circumstances of the design, and variations in the bid processes or construction management systems. |
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Services > Design Development
Design development involves the testing and development of a conceptual strategy. The extent and measure of each element is explored. A multidisciplinary design team works together to develop a fully resolved solution. Detailed drawings, models, design narratives and cost estimates are used to explore and communicate the design. |
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Services > Master Planning
Master planning establishes the framework for an integrated phased development. It provides a vision and development strategy guided by principles, priorities and goals. The master plan allows the evaluation of past and proposed solutions in order to realize project potential throughout an incremental development. |
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Services > Presentation Materials/Models
Presentation materials and models are prepared in many media to communicate design concepts and characteristics. They aid the evaluation and development of a project during all phases of work. Presentation materials illustrate proposed solutions to clients, the design team, and the public, and are tailored for the needs of each project. They are invaluable tools for fundraising and public relations. |
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Services > Program Development
Program development identifies the activities that will inhabit the site, and how they will interact over seasons and years. The programming phase involves the negotiation of potentially conflicting uses and the testing of relationships and goals. The program defines activities in their appropriate locations, resulting in a place that best fits the users, the site, and the project aesthetic. |
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Services > Site Planning
Site planning brings together aspirations, site analysis and program to create designs that are functional and memorable. Site organization usually persists for generations, and often outlives structures. Effective site planning requires a multidisciplinary team committed to developing indoor and outdoor spaces as a single composition. |
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Services > Site Selection
Site selection and project feasibility studies establish the potential of a site to support a development program. Design alternatives specific to project sites are developed and evaluated in light of total cost, environmental impact, and permitting requirements. This allows the identification of implementation strategies and additional studies to assure project success. |
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Clients > Design Firms + Artists
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Clients > Public Agencies + Interest Groups
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Clients > Public Agencies + Interest Groups
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Clients > Institutions
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Clients > Corporations + Development Firms
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Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement Project Urban Design Evaluation | Pike Place Market Lid Study The Alaskan Way Viaduct and the seawall define Seattle’s waterfront and downtown edge. Early evaluation of the urban context, neighborhood characteristics, function and form is the basis of Urban Design Guidelines to be used to bind future improvements with the rich characteristics and vital life of the shoreline and upland neighborhoods. |
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Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement Project Urban Design Evaluation | Pike Place Market Lid Study The early study for the Pike Place Market Lid establishes programmatic design assumptions and provides the foundations for this significant public promenade, connecting the central waterfront’s vital neighborhoods with the historic Pike Place Market. The simple design of terraces, cascading sheets of water and pedestrian promenade, bounded by sculpted grass landforms, reflects the northwest shoreline landscapes in strong conceptual forms and patterns. |
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Ballard Commons, Library and Neighborhood Service Center
The Ballard Commons, Library and Neighborhood Service Center represent the city’s commitment to the public realm, increased density and development of an urban village. These are the central components of the Ballard Municipal Civic Center Master Plan and reflect the values and aspirations of the community. The vision of an active civic center that supports community festivals and the daily activities of the community is at the heart of the design effort. |
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Ballard Commons, Library and Neighborhood Service Center
The Commons is a 1.4-acre civic park where the integration of active and passive uses includes all members of the community from the young to the old, from the homeless to residents. A skateboard bowl, interactive fountain and plaza activate the park with a sloping amphitheater of lawn, supporting everyday uses and community celebrations. |
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Ballard Commons, Library and Neighborhood Service Center
The Ballard Library and Neighborhood Service Center is Seattle’s most heavily used neighborhood library and is a critical contributor to the local community. The building and site create a generous pedestrian environment with a large covered arcade and plaza with visual access to the workings of the library. The arcade and plaza extend a comfortable, urban street environment from the park toward Market Street. The iconic curved living roof covers over 75% of the site. |
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International District Green Street Study
The study sets direction for future redevelopment on two streets in the heart of Seattle’s International District. Each is approached as a unique part of a rich community fabric, with recommendations for physical improvements and changes of use. The commitment to a vibrant public realm supports neighborhood redevelopment and for the International District, this is a vital mix of living, work and constantly changing street life. |
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International District Green Street Study
Maynard Avenue is a civic retail street within a historic district. The design proposes extending retail activities into the street, integrating rainwater collection in urban runnels, and installing lantern street lighting and Chinese hunting chairs for the community. |
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International District Green Street Study
Lane Street is the southern gateway into the International District and serves a growing residential community. Proposed street plazas mark gateway intersections with signature bamboo plantings. Rain gardens gather water from the street plazas and, with a scattered distribution of trees and furnishings, create an intimate pedestrian scale. |
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Peace Arch Port of Entry
Located on the shores of the Strait of Georgia at the western edge of the North American continent, the Peace Arch Port of Entry is a unique and iconic border crossing that symbolizes the peaceful relationship between the United States and Canada. The historic Peace Arch monument marking the border and the International Peace Arch Park remain the physical and symbolic center of the composition with the business of customs and immigration occurring at the edges. |
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Peace Arch Port of Entry
Defined by the surrounding agrarian landscape and the historic Peace Arch Park, the new Port of Entry is a landscape solution with the building, inspection areas and roadways inserted into the rolling landforms and historic park. |
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Peace Arch Port of Entry
Rolling landforms, an extensive living roof, restored park and wetlands fully integrate the 18 acres of activities into the shoreline and upland agrarian landscape within the context of the post 9-11 security debate. The design received the Honor Award in Architecture for On-the-Boards New Construction from the US General Services Administration. |
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Pike Place Market Redevelopment Open Space Study and Hillclimb Renovation Seattle’s renowned historic market teams with life day in and day out. The cultural value and heavy use of Seattle’s soul demands selective and surgical updates and improvements. Seismic and utility upgrades must be inserted within the unusual and subtle system of open spaces, buildings and complex public realm. Swift Company’s evaluation developed criteria for careful insertion of improvements and the evaluation of any actions. |
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Pike Place Market Redevelopment Open Space Study and Hillclimb Renovation The upper hillclimb, a 57’ climb connecting Western Avenue with the heart of the market, is the focus of significant improvements supporting public use. Swift Company partnered with architects and civil and electrical engineers to develop an integrated new hillclimb that is open, airy and urbane, and incorporates an electrical substation with pedestrian gathering areas supporting the vitality of all levels of the market. |
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Discovery Park Habitat Improvement
Discovery Park, a 500-acre regional park on Puget Sound, is Seattle’s urban wilderness. The ongoing reclamation of its diverse ecosystems includes a $1.1 million initiative led by Swift Company in 1996. The habitat enhancement project builds on the ecological structures of the park with an action plan developed by a team of specialists that shifted the trajectory of the declining grasslands, forests and wetlands. |
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Discovery Park Habitat Improvement
The project received national recognition for the innovative approach to land reclamation and the control of invasive Scot’s Broom in the grasslands. Central to the plan was the development of soil nutrient banks, structurally diverse planting, and careful integration of visitor amenities. Swift Company’s sucessful biosolids demonstration resulted in a quarter million dollar donation by King County METRO. Six years later, the grasslands continue to dominate. |
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Discovery Park Habitat Improvement
Previous development had captured the storm water, reducing the natural drainages and wetlands—a critical component of habitat. This piped water was released in a sequence of vernal pools, forested marshes, and expanded wetlands. The wetland and open water habitat provides a teaching facility surrounded by dense native vegetation. Low walls flush with the water allow direct, safe, and easy access to the pool edge for classes of small children and the general public. |
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Grand Teton National Park Craig Thomas Discovery and Vistor Center The challenge is to break through the absorbed and often jaded perspective of a park visitor, and capture them in a visceral experience of the Tetons and the expansive valley of Jackson Hole. All components of the design reach beyond the usual to engage the senses. The visitor is recognized foremost as a sensory being in a wild and compelling landscape. |
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Grand Teton National Park Craig Thomas Discovery and Vistor Center Scent, moisture, movement, sound and light are used to awaken the visitor to this extraordinary place. The shade and smell of the cottonwoods and spruces in the summer, and the crisp snap of snow and shadows on windblown drifts in winter are integrated in a design that breaks through the visitor’s perception. Trails slip along the forest edge walking away from the view and cross enhanced natural drainages for a heightened experience. |
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Grand Teton National Park Craig Thomas Discovery and Vistor Center The Visitor Center is tucked into the forest edge, offering a refuge with expansive views across a sage meadow to the moraines and spectacular, ever-changing mountain range beyond. The covered porch and large existing spruce trees frame the simple and intimate interior courtyard. The site plan formalizes the ritual of arrival and travel, moving the visitor from the mundane to the extraordinary. |
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Maple Valley Library
The recently incorporated town of Maple Valley draws its sense of civic identity from the history of its forested landscape. The library embodies this community value through its careful placement in a mature, second-growth native forest. This project received awards from the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Arbor Day Foundation for its innovative approach to integrated site development. |
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Maple Valley Library
The aggressive effort of the design team, a combination of landscape architects, architects, civil engineers and foresters, resulted in a clear understanding of the site’s ability to absorb development. An evaluation and mapping of all trees and understory plants informed building placement and site design. The result is a successfully integrated building with minimal site impact. |
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Maple Valley Library
Rainwater flows from the roof to a basin in a central courtyard. Small areas of parking drain into duff-covered rock wells and swales to disperse runoff throughout the site and provide groundwater recharge. Construction impact was strictly limited, with planting and irrigation only in areas of impact. Duff and forest floor litter was harvested from development areas for redistribution and site restoration. The site looks deceptively natural. |
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Stone Quarry Bay
Stone Quarry Bay represents the intersection of a client’s aspiration for a carefully developed family compound with an exceptional site of wooded hillsides framing cattail marshes and a rocky point on a lake in Montana. |
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Stone Quarry Bay
A commitment to meticulous detail is reflected in all aspects of site design and ecological restoration. Careful consideration is given to landscape complexity, site function, grading, stonework and optical illusion. The result is site elements, such as mounded septic systems, drainage swales, buildings, roads and paths, that disappear into an elegant sequence of landforms and forest. |
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Stone Quarry Bay
Buildings grow out of existing and new rock outcroppings of native basalt and extend into the cattails. Stone circles slip into the land as if they were always there. Forest management, selective plantings of new native species, and habitat restoration measures reflect the client’s commitment to the care of a vital ecosystem. This project has received a National Honor Award from the AIA and a Washington State ASLA Honor Award for Design. |
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Seattle Center House
Honored by the American Society of Landscape Architects, the plaza entry to the Seattle Center House connects the interior of a rainy day gathering place with an exterior street environment. Under a vaulted tree canopy, the plaza becomes a street, a stage and a meeting point. It is a place that connects the cavernous interior space of the Center House—a public performance venue—with the Seattle Center grounds. |
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Seattle Center House
This plaza serves multiple functions. In the morning, it is where deliveries occur. In the afternoon, children race by on their way to the Fun Forest or the Experience Music Project. In the evening, activities spill out of the building and connect with the open-air amphitheatre beyond. During Seattle’s many festivals, it is a stage, a marketplace, and a landmark. |
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Seattle Center House
Swift Company, in collaboration with artist Timothy Siciliano, created a circus ring in the pavement and a rug extending into the building. Highly colored concrete patterns framed with stainless steel bands, curves and stars trim the rug and mark this unique place. A terrace dining area with public seating and lighting creates a space that is magical and inviting when empty, and generous when full. |
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Seattle Civic Center
Seattle’s civic center languished with an undistinguished city hall and buildings incrementally developed in a cacophony of styles and lacked the open space of plazas and great streets that unify the urban fabric. Swift Company, with Gustafson Guthrie Nichol Ltd. (GGN), has undertaken the implementation of a master plan that envisions a generous and functional campus supporting the growing civic activities of a maturing city. |
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Seattle Civic Center
Comprising three blocks in downtown Seattle, the site sits on a hillside with spectacular views of Elliott Bay and the Olympic mountains beyond. Swift Company brought programming, community involvement/facilitation, project management and strategies for sustainability to the project, while GGN led the design. In a coordinated effort, the two firms created a glorious sequence of terraces, water features and grand stairs that link the entire civic campus. |
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Seattle Civic Center
The new Justice Center and City Hall provide generous public spaces where the interior and exterior flow together. The design supports informal gathering, conversation, demonstrations and performances of all sizes in a solution rooted in the Seattle hillside landscape. This project has been honored by the Washington chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. |
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Seattle Monorail Project Green Line
The challenges of a significant infrastructure project in a well-defined urban fabric are questions of scale, fit, time and city maturation. Issues of social, physical and ecological function—and concerns of scale and proportion—are central. In a clear statement of value and commitment, the Seattle Monorail Project commissioned Swift Company, in collaboration with Mithun, to develop system-wide urban design and landscape guidelines. |
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Seattle Monorail Project Green Line
The guidelines are a tool for evaluating the design of the monorail system, and place high value on context and diversity of the urban and pedestrian environment. They emphasize building for a maturing city in motion—for increased density, pedestrian volume and a finer urban grain. They address a range of scale in a city with clear physical form and strong neighborhood identity. In community meetings and review, they offer a framework for considering choices. |
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Seattle Monorail Project Green Line
Initiated early in the planning process, guidelines have been applied to station design, station area planning, route planning and the design build operate maintain contract structure. In addition to the system-wide guidelines, Swift Company is working on station design and the development of sustainable strategies, and has an ongoing role in the development of urban design strategies and the agency review process. |
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University of Washington Southwest Campus
Over the last decade, the University of Washington has expanded into the southwest campus on Seattle’s Portage Bay. During this period, Swift Company has undertaken six projects, including the School of Fisheries, the Oceanography Laboratory, and the Biomedical Research Building. Each space responds to its particular circumstance, and incrementally builds the campus into a whole, with a generous open space system that reflects the qualities of upper campus. |
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University of Washington Southwest Campus
The new campus maximizes open space with on-structure plazas, vistas, courtyards, walks, and water access. The research of the School of Fisheries is expressed by an abstracted riparian system, and the courtyard is identified as a significant landscape for the campus. The rigorously ordered Biomedical Research plaza is comprised of elegantly detailed paving and seating with masses of wildly textural vegetation as a foil and counterpoint. |
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University of Washington Southwest Campus
A 100-year vision of campus requires complete solutions for phased growth. The campus graciously extends outward with parkways and trails, and merges with water-related industry. Grading studies establish building elevations and plan for future vistas, access, and services. Long-lived trees frame open spaces that provide a respite from academic life. Valued for this experience, Swift Company continues work with multiple other campus environments in the Northwest region. |
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Woodland Park Zoo
Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo introduces visitors to world ecosystems and the animals and plants that inhabit them. The zoo’s strategy is to immerse visitors in the lush sensory experience of each bioclimatic zone. Swift Company led a 1.32 million dollar development of the master plan and phased improvements for the 10-acre Temperate Forest exhibit, the zone of the Pacific Northwest. |
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Woodland Park Zoo
The master plan builds on a rich infrastructure of exhibits, forest vegetation, paths and utilities, and brings visitors through an Asian forest, a Northwest swamp and forest, and a family farm. The refurbished Family Farm features animal and husbandry exhibits, a sheltered petting area, and a vegetable garden in a meadow clearing. A red napped crane inhabits a new marsh exhibit. |
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Woodland Park Zoo
A Discovery Trail introduces children and adults to an experience of the animal world and their habitats in a playful and engaging way. Imagine climbing a giant spider web, crawling into a turtle shell, burrowing into the den of a bear, or slipping down a slide as an otter. As many parents know, the Discovery Trail is a popular and repeatedly visited feature of the Woodland Park Zoo. |
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Contact Us
We want hear from you. To learn more about Swift Company or to discuss a potential project, please contact us at: 3131 Western Avenue, Suite M423 Seattle, Washington 98121 T: 206-632-2038 | F: 206-632-2048 info@swiftcompany.com For employment inquires, send resume, references and work samples in a SASE (or via e-mail.) No phone calls please. |
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Find Us
Swift Company is located at 3131 Western Avenue, Suite M423 in the Northwest Lofts Building complex at the intersection of Denny Way and Western Avenue. The office is in the southernmost building on the 4th floor, raised slightly above the south entrance with stairs off of Western Avenue.  Mapquest Map to Swift Company
Northwest Lofts Building Map
3131 Western Avenue, Suite M423 Seattle, Washington 98121 T: 206-632-2038 | F: 206-632-2048 info@swiftcompany.com |
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