William B. Callaway

William B. Callaway, FASLA (May 26, 1943 – November 25, 2014) was an American landscape architect with SWA Group, recognized for his ability to design landscapes that are timeless. Peter Walker, designer of the World Trade Center Memorial and a long-time colleague, described Callaway as being "among the icons of post-World War II practice", developing his modern style by consistently staying true to the natural character of the landscape.

Beijing Finance Street was honored by the Urban Land Institute with its Global Award of Excellence, one of five awarded that year, and it received the China Award from Businessweek magazine.

In 1994, he was honored as a Fellow in the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). In bestowing the 2007 ASLA Medal, the organization's highest honor for an individual, the jury said his "personal leadership, charisma, and professional passion inspire designers to retain an idealistic view of the profession and the world."

Architects and developers have sought out his designs to enhance structures and the built-environment. Architect Robert Arrigoni characterizes Callaway's landscapes as those that "never seem to age and the more you look at them, the better they look and the better they make our buildings."

Upon graduation, Callaway returned to SWA Group's Sausalito headquarters, and rose to be named president in 1996, and then CEO in 2003. In 2006 he became the firm's Chairman, and remained a principal and member of the board of directors until his death.

Callaway was born and raised in Courtland, California, on a ranch situated in the Sacramento River Delta, which his family has farmed since 1850. He is married to Barbara Meacham (1973 MLA-graduate from the University of California at Berkeley). Callaway and Meacham have two children: Catherine and Andrew. He has two children from a previous marriage: Amy and Peter, and two grandchildren.

Notable projects

Public realm

Centennial Park, Atlanta Barney Allis Plaza, Kansas City, Missouri Refugio Valley Park, Hercules, California PPG Place, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Village of Merrick Park, Coral Gables, Florida Beijing Finance Street, Beijing 101 California Street highrise, San Francisco Rainier Vista, Seattle Arizona Center, Phoenix, Arizona

Institutional

Columbus City Hall, Columbus IN National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, Culpeper, Virginia Concord Pavilion, Concord, California McCormick Place, Chicago

Corporate/High tech

Firemans Fund headquarters, Novato, California Weyerhaeuser headquarters, Federal Way, Washington Hewlett Packard campus, Rohnert Park, California IBM Almaden Research Center, San Jose, California Electronic Arts headquarters, Redwood City, California Crown Zellerbach Building, San Francisco

Hospitality

Hyatt Gainey Ranch, Phoenix, Arizona

New town planning

Tuen Mun New Town, Hong Kong Filinvest City, Manila Mare Island, Vallejo, California