Ancient bones. New possibilities.

At Brackenridge Park, water has shaped both the landscape and the stories people tell about it. This 17.5-acre rehabilitation proposal for the City of San Antonio brings historic water infrastructure, ecological repair, and everyday park life into a connected landscape along the San Antonio River.

At SWA, Rachel served as Project Manager and Design Lead. The proposal centers on the historic Pump House, Upper Labor Diversion Dam, raceway, and Lambert Beach, revealing the relationships between structures that once moved water through the site. New pedestrian connections, gathering spaces, and planted plazas invite people to experience that history up close.

The design pairs rehabilitation of historic structures with native planting, riverbank stabilization, and a reduction in hardscape. Around the Pump House and Lambert Beach, proposed arrival and dining plazas give familiar places new possibilities for use, while keeping the river central to the experience.

Working within this layered cultural landscape required careful coordination with preservation agencies, river authorities, Indigenous groups, and the public. Design decisions balanced historic fabric, ecological needs, accessibility, and the many ways people value this park.

The ambition: give a much-loved landscape a future as rich as its past.