Great Landscapes
(Image: Safdie Architects)
Great landscapes require creative vision backed by solid technical expertise. Pine & Swallow has the experience and knowledge to help you fulfill your vision and build successful, robust, and trouble-free landscapes. Since 1981 we have provided science, engineering, and construction expertise for projects large and small, worldwide.
Your Vision
Asian University for Women, Bangladesh
Brown Sardina
The Asian University for Women is a proposed new campus for approximately 2,500 women to be constructed in Chittagong, Bangladesh. As part of the Master Plan development, Pine and Swallow has been responsible for preliminary analysis of slope stability, constructability of site, and strategies for earth moving and earth stabilization. When recent monsoon rains caused numerous landslides at the site, P&S carried out a site investigation to determine the causes and to evaluate the buildability of the site. P&S is responsible for strategies and specifications for providing planting soils to sustain extensive plantings on the site as well as providing environmentally appropriate conditions for plantings.
Our Science
Steep Slopes
- slope stability analysis
- erosion control measures
- soil design for stability
- fiber soils
- ground water seepage control
- plant selection
- stormwater runoff control
Your Vision
Clark Art Institute
Reed Hilderbrand
The Clark site is being developed as a world-class art conservation and exhibit facility. Extensive parking areas and emergency access were designed using non-pavement materials, incorporating grass and meadow plantings. The proposed access road traverses a hillside through both meadow and light-forested areas. Meadow plantings were created along the road edge and drainage swales were used for surface water management. Woodland areas were restored and upgraded. Pine & Swallow assisted with plant and seed selection, provided profile sketches, soil specifications and construction monitoring for various site conditions and locations.
Great Landscapes
(Photo: Reed Hilderbrand)
Our Science
Meadows
- sustainable conditions design
- soil design for water holding capacity
- plant/seed selection
- maintenance strategies
- meadow restoration
- invasive species control
Your Vision
Brooklyn Bridge Park, Brooklyn, New York
Michael
Van Valkenburgh Associates
The 85-acre Brooklyn Bridge Park will run approximately 1.5 miles along the East River, with spectacular views to lower Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, and the Brooklyn Bridge. The park, with 6 piers and associated uplands, will include lawns, beaches, coves, restored habitats, playgrounds and landscaped areas as well as floating pathways, fishing piers, canals, paddling waters, and new wetland and stream systems. A major constructed landform with slopes up to 45 degrees, requiring various stabilization strategies, will run the length of the park to provide separation of the waterfront from nearby highways. Pine and Swallow is responsible for the design and specification of all planting soils and for soil drainage strategies on the project including high use and amenity lawns, play areas, major planting zones, new upland and coastal wetlands, and a constructed stream system which recycles stormwater for remediation.
Great Landscapes
(Image: Michael Van Valkenburgh)
Our Science
Water Features
- hydro-geologic analysis
- evaluation of ground water levels
- permeability testing
- hydrology stream and wetland design
- liner systems
- soil reservoir design
- hydric soil design
- transition zone soil hydrologic design
- aquatic plant materials
- wetland/ transition plant materials
Your Vision
Teardrop Park, Battery Park City, New York, NY
Michael
Van Valkenburgh Associates
Teardrop Park, with its varied plantings, extensive rockwork, waterfalls and play areas, is a visual jewel and a center of activity in Manhattan's Battery Park City. Pine and Swallow designed and specified nine manufactured soil blends to meet stringent and complex geotechnical and horticultural demands. P&S also designed subsurface drainage and a wetland system, worked with local soil suppliers to find appropriate soil resources, and provided construction observation for the complex soil construction. Sustainable initiatives include reusing gray water from surrounding buildings for irrigation as well as sustainable construction materials. The plantings are designed to thrive in a relatively shady site and provide habitat for native and migratory birds. The soils are designed to support plant life without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides.
Great Landscapes
Our Science
Sustainable
- soil design for optimal water and nutrient holding capacity
- soil biologic systems enhancement
- storm water harvesting and reuse
- brownfield and greenfield projects
- environmental contamination issues
- subgrade modification for infiltration enhancement
- soils for naturalized plantings
- soil resource assessment
- integrated pest management
- stormwater biotreatment
Your Vision
Boston Central Artery, Boston, MA
The Boston Central Artery project, the Big Dig, removed an elevated highway that divided the city and created a new landscape corridor, transforming the entire city center. Pine and Swallow participated in general planning for soil resources and provided master soil specifications for planting soils and for sand-based structural soil systems. P&S also provided soil and drainage design for various individual park segments.
Great Landscapes
(Photo: Massachusetts Turnpike Authority)
Our Science
Streetscapes
- soil rooting volumes
- soil compaction analysis
- salt conditions
- structural soil systems
- subsurface drainage design
- aeration and irrigation systems
- stormwater harvesting
- plant selection
- stormwater biotreatment
- treatment tree pit design
- porous pavement systems
Your Vision
Harvard Allston Streetscape
Carol R. Johnson
Associates
In preparation for expansion of Harvard’s Allston campus Pine & Swallow worked with Carol R. Johnson and Associates to develop sustainability guidelines for streetscape development. The goal of the new development was to transform a large industrialized area into a modern sustainable landscape. P&S provided preliminary designs for a sustainable stormwater management system and a corresponding program for subsoil investigation and testing, including characterization of subsurface drainage and infiltration capacities. P&S assisted with the design of a model treatment planter, developed specifications for bio-treatment soils and construction procedures, and provided review of construction. For Harvard P&S developed a plan for evaluating the effectiveness of the biotreatment, monitored the treatment system, and documented its effectiveness with recommendations for future systems.
Great Landscapes
Our Science
Rain Gardens
- stormwater environmental analysis
- soil chemistry and biology
- soil design to balance infiltration and horticultural value
- soil biologic systems enhancement
- subgrade modification for infiltration enhancement
- stormwater biotreatment
- plant materials
- maintenance strategies
- performance evaluation
Your Vision
Department of Transportation, Washington DC
A. Morton Thomas &
Associates; Lee & Associates
The Washington DDOT is developing sustainable standards for all future street construction and tree plantings. Pine & Swallow is working with A. Morton Thomas & Associates and Lee & Associates to establish standards for permeable pavement design, for stormwater bio-treatment, and for street trees / structural soils. This work will create strategies and specifications suitable for projects on all DC streets, ranging from local street improvements to major construction projects.
Great Landscapes
(Image: Reuters)
Our Science
Urban
- soil rooting volumes
- soil compaction analysis
- structural soil systems
- subsurface drainage design
- aeration and irrigation systems
- stormwater harvesting
- plant selection
- stormwater biotreatment
- treatment tree pit design
- porous pavement systems
Your Vision
The High Line, New York, NY
Field Operations,
Inc.
The High Line establishes a greenbelt park along an abandoned 1.5-mile section of a former elevated freight railroad on the lower west side of Manhattan. This project created a variety of ecological environments as well as public amenities in, effectively, a rooftop condition. Pine and Swallow developed soil and drainage strategies to support the array of planting conditions, prepared soil profiles and specifications, reviewed soil submittals, and monitored soil blending and placement during construction.
Great Landscapes
(Image: Friends of the High Line)
Our Science
Rooftops
- soil weight analysis
- optimizing horticultural value per soil unit weight
- xeriscape plantings
- planting environmental analysis
- tree stability systems
- drainage strategies
- plant materials
- geofoam issues
- lightweight landforms
Your Vision
Greensboro Center City Park, Greensboro NC
Halvorson Design
Center City Park created a civic focal landscape from a utilitarian area including parking lots. The design includes a fountain which serves to represent the seasonal stream beds in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, as well as a great lawn, a path system with plantings reflecting the regional plant palette, and a revitalized streetscape. Pine and Swallow provided soil design, including sand-based structural soil for the streetscape plantings and designed drainage strategies for the complex design.
Great Landscapes
(Photo: Halvorson Design)
Our Science
Parks
- soil investigations
- planting environmental analysis
- soil design for varied planting conditions
- subsurface drainage analysis
- maintenance strategies
- plant materials
- stormwater harvesting
Your Vision
Bethel Woods Center For the Arts
Olin Partnership
The Bethel Woods Center for the Arts includes a 15,000 seat outdoor performance venue, smaller performance sites, a museum, and a system of trails and protected open spaces at the site of the original 1969 Woodstock festival. Pine and Swallow created a soil resource plan as part of the sustainable development of the site and designed soil mixes for the range of conditions, including for a high-use seating lawn at the pavilion.
Great Landscapes
(Photo: Bethel Woods Center for the Arts)
Our Science
High-Use Turf
- soil design
- subsurface drainage design
- sod and seed mix options
- integrated pest management
- soil reuse analysis
- existing soil and turf evaluation
- turf maintenance
- sod farm issues
- stabilized turf for vehicles
Great Landscapes
Your Vision
Hudson River Park, New York, NY
Mathews Neilsen
The Hudson River Park extends approximately five miles along Manhattan’s West Side highway and waterfront encompassing 550 acres. The Park project includes a waterfront esplanade running its length providing views of the Hudson River, paralleled by tree-shaded lawns, gardens, tennis courts and other facilities for more active recreation. In addition, 13 old maritime piers are being reconstructed as public park spaces. Pine and Swallow prepared a Master Soils Specification for the various individual park areas, including material descriptions, in-place and laboratory testing procedures, and material placement operations. P&S also developed strategies for construction on piers as well as varied conditions along the waterfront, and provided submittal review.
Our Science
Waterfronts
- salt issues
- soil drainage
- planting environmental analysis
- plant materials selection
- tidal and flooding issues
- subsurface drainage control
- beach erosion
- salt marsh plantings
- dune design and management
