Located on a 127-acre former estate overlooking the Kensico Reservoir in Armonk, New York, the Swiss Re America headquarters was designed to reflect the company’s vision of minimizing its environmental impact on the site while providing for current needs and future growth.

DTS, in collaboration with land use counsel, worked closely with Town of North Castle officials during the environmental review and site plan approval processes. A methodology was established to communicate the site concept and design to the community and obtain consensus from a wide constituency of stakeholders. A broad range of graphic media, including 3D images and digital simulation tools, were used to achieve an understanding and acceptance of the plan.

As the site is located within an environmentally-sensitive New York City watershed, DTS consulted early in the project with Town, State and City regulatory authorities during the design of the extensive interim and permanent stormwater measures to support the Phase I construction of a 300,000 square foot corporate office building and a 1,000-car parking structure.

The altered areas of the site were planted with native trees and shrubs to reinforce the site’s bucolic setting and to complement the mature estate plantings and woodlands. Meadows were gently re-graded to provide for broad naturalized stormwater basins and to minimize soil erosion.