Meet Swift Company: A New CVG Investment Partner
CVG is thrilled to introduce a new addition to our Investment Partner network: Swift Company LLC, led by Barbara Swift, FASLA and Gareth Loveridge, based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1982, the nine-person firm has focused on the planning and design of landscapes, urban environments, and open spaces throughout the West.
Swift Company is known for progressive integrated multidisciplinary efforts and highly personalized service with client relationships spanning decades. Their clientele includes high-profile institutions, public agencies, artists, and private corporations. When asked about specific project typology, Barbara stated that the landscape design and urban planning work they choose to pursue is “more about the questions” and finding design challenges that “feed the firm’s deep-seated curiosity.” From Swift Company’s website:
“We prefer the minimal gesture, the humanly generous. We are not concerned with styles or trends. We are inspired and invigorated by questions. What if? Why? What is essential? Does this fit? Is it poetry? Is this smart change? Is this generous? Does it serve? Is it enduring?
Each project, each circumstance reveals the nature of its place: the ecological insistence, the power of the land, the illusive, and solid. A successful, beautifully crafted public realm is basic infrastructure, and the best of society is fostered through this generosity.”
“It is an honor to be working with Barbara’s firm,” notes CVG’s VP of Investment Partnerships, Rena M. Klein, FAIA. “As a member of the Seattle design community for many years, I have been repeatedly impressed by Swift Company’s accomplishments and the thoughtful, impactful nature of the firm’s work. Adding a highly respected landscape architecture firm to CVG’s growing network will bring a valuable new perspective to our community.”
Selected portfolio highlights illustrate Swift’s broad array of projects:
The Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center | Moose, Wyoming
Completed for the National Parks Service, the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center in Moose, Wyoming, offers a primal experience of nature in the pristine, iconic Grand Teton National Park. A visceral sensory immersion in the landscape captivates visitors with the wonder of the Teton wilderness through the strategic siting and design of the landscape and building. The site encompassed 12 acres total, with 5.4 acres of planting area. (Photo: Nic Lehoux)
University of Washington Medical Center Courtyard | Seattle, Washington
A roof membrane replacement project created the opportunity to reconsider the design and use of an under-utilized courtyard in the heart of the University of Washington Medical Center. The revitalized courtyard establishes a new identity supporting wayfinding and a vibrant outdoor room with refreshing views to Portage Bay. (Photo: G. Loveridge)
Pike Place Market Hill Climb Restoration | Seattle, Washington
Pike Place Market is the beloved soul of the city with a complex and subtle system of open spaces in the public realm. Careful urban surgery generously reinvigorates its upper hill climb to create an open, iconic connection to the Market’s back door. Swift Company partnered with an innovative team of architects and civil, electrical, and mechanical engineers to decode the site’s layered history and to create a series of legible, welcoming spaces scaled for pedestrian comfort and enjoyment. Stairways carefully wind up the hill climb, providing vital access to the Market’s lower levels, and spacious landings provide views of the street and Puget Sound. (Photo: Laura Schwimmer)
Discovery Park Habitat Project | Seattle, Washington
Today’s visitors to Seattle’s “urban wilderness” park experience sweeping meadows, stunning views, towering lowland forests, eroding bluffs and sandy beaches. This vital ecosystem is the result of an innovative effort led by Swift Company to sustainably transform this former military base into a socially and ecologically thriving landscape. This project was completed for the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation and was 500 acres total with 35 acres of restoration work. (Photo: Ben Benschneider)
Stay tuned for updates about CVG’s work with Swift Company. For more information about the firm, visit http://swiftcompany.com/.