WRT

WRT WRT is a team of planners, urban designers, architects, and landscape architects

WRT is a team of planners, urban designers, architects, and landscape architects. We value the impact of our collective approach to create simple solutions for complex problems across scales. We serve our communities by designing places that enhance the natural and social environment.

04/22/2026

This Earth Day, we’re reflecting on what it means to invest in public landscapes. At Lake Merritt, the impact of planning and design is measured over time.

A center of public life in the City of Oakland for over a century, the historic boathouse and surrounding park had fallen into disrepair. Working with we restored the lakefront as a public resource to reconnect shoreline paths, improve access across neighborhoods, and manage stormwater.

Years later, this work demonstrates how prioritizing ecological health and public access creates lasting value for communities.

04/20/2026

The Donoe Redevelopment in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands delivers 84 units of hurricane-resilient, energy-independent affordable housing designed around long-term community wellbeing.

After Hurricanes Marilyn, Irma, and Maria, WRT led the master planning and design of this 11-acre neighborhood to help displaced residents return to homes built for the realities of a changing climate.

With passive ventilation, shaded balconies, and an on-site solar microgrid with battery storage, the project responds to the Caribbean environment while supporting long-term affordability. Resilience is not only about weathering the next storm. It is about helping communities endure, recover, and thrive.

A partnership made possible by Pennrose, Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority, Jackson Development Company, LLC, J. Benton Construction, LLC, and Consigli Construction Co., Inc.

04/15/2026

Chinatown’s newest affordable housing development (Man An House 萬安樓) offers 51 fully affordable units on N 9th St., serving senior residents. On the eastern wall of the building, Philadelphia-based muralist .cai has created something powerful.

Commissioned by , the mural draws from the beloved “History of Chinatown” at 10th & Winter St. - a work painted in resistance to the Vine Street Expressway that divided the neighborhood in the 1960s, and in celebration of Chinatown’s 125th anniversary in Philadelphia. That original mural, by artists Arturo Ho, Giz, N. Phung, and H. Tran, overflows with imagery: railroad workers, laundry laborers, a family sharing tea, a father and son bent over a book.

Chenlin Cai’s new mural carries that spirit forward - adding fresh color and new chapters to a story still being written.

A partnership made possible by .

03/31/2026

The Berkeley waterfront has a long history of passionate advocates. Ensuring that history includes everyone took intentional work.

WRT partnered with public engagement consultant Susan Moffat to design the New Voices Partnership - a program that recruited and trained community members who are often left out of park planning processes to participate alongside established stakeholders in shaping the future of North Basin Strip, a 20-acre shoreline site on the Berkeley waterfront and the last major undeveloped parcel in McLaughlin Eastshore State Park.

What made this effort distinct was its scope beyond a single site. Participants left with the skills and confidence to engage in future planning processes - not just this one.

Grateful to the organizations whose trust and partnership made this work possible: , , , , , , , , , and . Grant funding provided by . Project managed by .

03/12/2026

Community is reflected in Norfolk’s many “third places,” public spaces where neighbors gather, socialize, and build relationships outside of work and home. These spaces help define what it means to live in Norfolk, and why so many citizens choose to stay.

In a time of regional growth and demographic change, Norfolk’s history and character can be a powerful asset. It draws new residents, retains longtime neighbors, and connects us to each other. By investing in stories, spaces, and people, we ensure identity isn’t just preserved, but celebrated.

By 2050, residents hope to see this tapestry grow even richer. This future should be rooted in preserving landmarks, activating the waterfront, and fostering pride and belonging across the city.

Read the full plan: www.NFK2050.com

03/04/2026

As wildfires, climate related events, and emergency calls grow in frequency and intensity, communities are rethinking how critical civic infrastructure is planned and designed.

San Geronimo Valley and the greater Marin County area are planning a new fire station and all hazard response facility that will serve as the operational headquarters for the department’s expanding emergency response efforts. Working with and community partners, the planning and design process integrates operational needs with the valley’s ecological systems, rural character, and long term community well being.

Follow along as planning progresses and community input helps shape the future home for San Geronimo’s emergency response services.

02/25/2026

Schools are not isolated buildings. They are living systems shaped by ecology, pedagogy, and community.

At Wilmington Friends School, we approached the Lower School renovation as a learning ecology, strengthening connections between classrooms and landscape, aligning space with child centered teaching, and advancing climate responsibility through adaptive reuse.

We believe landscape architects and designers shape more than campuses. We shape the environments where curiosity, belonging, and resilience take root for a lifetime.

02/20/2026

At Trinity Street Apartments in Hartford, we’re transforming two 1920s state office buildings into 104 mixed-income homes overlooking Bushnell Park. Through adaptive reuse, full electrification, historic preservation, and activated ground-floor retail, the project reconnects housing to the civic heart of downtown while reducing embodied carbon and expanding access across income levels.

Trinity reflects our belief that equitable, climate-responsive communities are built through reinvestment. By aligning social equity, resilience, and design excellence, we are shaping housing as civic infrastructure for long-term neighborhood vitality.

02/12/2026

Norfolk residents envision a future where getting around their city is safe, seamless, and sustainable.
 
Norfolk sits at the crossroads of land, water, and bridges—a regional hub where freight, rail, highways, and transit converge. For many residents, though, navigating the city is not seamless. Barriers like at-grade rail crossings, limited transit access, and flood-prone corridors can make everyday travel challenging and unpredictable. Essential infrastructure, from roads to bike lanes to broadband, must keep pace with a city that is growing and changing.
 
Read the full plan: www.NFK2050.com

01/23/2026

Housing is top of mind for Norfolk residents. Rising costs across the income spectrum intersect with climate risk, a shifting labor market, and economic uncertainty. While these pressures are national, their impacts are felt locally.

NFK2050 positions housing as a foundation for equitable growth by strengthening neighborhoods, supporting community resilience, and aligning land use with Norfolk’s role as a regional hub for industry and innovation.

Explore the full plan at NFK2050.com

01/14/2026

Norfolk is defined by its relationship to water — bordered by rivers, wetlands, and coastline that offer residents daily access to nature. But our rivers, shorelines and wetlands also pose our city’s greatest risk.

As sea levels rise, Norfolk must lean into the wisdom of its landscape, adapting with nature rather than against it. To truly embrace nature, we must build resilience in a way that restores our ecosystems and strengthens our communities.

Read the full plan: www.NFK2050.com

01/06/2026

Hope grows when people come together. As we enter 2026, we’re guided by collaboration, care, and possibility. Happy new year from all of us at WRT!

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