Helping You Envision What’s Possible

The Shipyard reimagines a former industrial waterfront as a vibrant public destination along the Fox River. Drawing from the river's history, culture, and significance to the community, the design blends recreation, environmental restoration, and placemaking into a cohesive waterfront experience. The result is a year-round park that celebrates Green Bay's identity while creating new opportunities for connection, recreation, and community.

Through extensive community engagement and visioning, Ayres partnered with residents to reimagine Emigh Playfield as a park that better reflects neighborhood priorities and aspirations. The design enhances recreation opportunities while improving safety, accessibility, and connections. The result is a more welcoming and relevant community space that supports everyday play, gathering, and active lifestyles.

This complex was envisioned as a community asset serving residents of all ages, interests, and abilities. Through a collaborative planning process, Ayres brought together city and school leaders, nonprofit partners, and community stakeholders to build consensus around a shared vision. The result is a community-driven plan that balances immediate needs with long-term goals while fostering a strong sense of ownership and lasting value.

Ayres partnered with Quorum Architects and won the Harbor District Inc.’s Take Me to the River design competition, whose goal was to develop a catalytic, new public park in the heart of Milwaukee’s primarily industrial Inner Harbor. Our team’s winning design highlighted the intersection of historical lake shore ecologies and the pattern of industrial-period settlement and development. The park has become a regional and international tourism destination.

Partnering with Mosaic Architecture, Ayres helped reimagine the fairgrounds as a valued agricultural tradition and a growth catalyst. The plan established a vision expanding the fairgrounds' role as a year-round community and visitor destination. Recommendations included enhanced camping facilities, a modern exhibition hall, and expanded event spaces to better serve residents, visitors, and the regional economy.

This master plan was shaped through a robust public engagement process that gathered input from park users, stakeholders, and community members. The effort identified opportunities to enhance visitor experiences while addressing existing challenges and evolving recreation needs. The resulting vision provides a roadmap for investments that strengthen the park's role as a valued outdoor destination.

This project reimagined downtown as a vibrant, people-focused destination that strengthens community identity and supports growth. Through extensive community engagement, planning, landscape architecture, and engineering, the team developed a practical, phased vision featuring enhanced streetscapes, safer pedestrian connections, gateway improvements, public gathering spaces, and wayfinding to create an active downtown.

A collaborative planning and engagement process reimagined how library programming could extend beyond the building. By transforming a roadway into a pedestrian area, the project strengthens the relationship between City Hall, the library, and the Eau Claire River. Inspired by the site's architecture and natural setting, the design provides flexible spaces that encourage learning, creativity, and connections to nature.

The Yuma Innovation District transforms underutilized properties into a catalyst for workforce development, economic growth, and higher education. Through an EPA Brownfields grant, Ayres helped identify redevelopment opportunities, address environmental challenges, and establish a framework for investment. The vision creates vibrant, sustainable mixed-use destinations that support innovation and the local economy.

Ayres helped the City leverage brownfield redevelopment and urban renewal tools to transform its Rail District into a growth catalyst. Through site assessments, redevelopment planning, and grant funding, the project established a framework to attract developers and remove barriers to reinvestment. The vision paves the way for a hub for affordable housing and community services while supporting residents who commute regionally.