Archinect - News

Preserving the legacy of William Sidney Pittman, the 'first Black architect of Texas'

2024-02-28T12:23:00-05:00

Many of his designs sit within historic Black neighborhoods with African American historical and cultural institutions. At the Glen Oaks Cemetery in South Dallas, Pittman’s grave marker reminds visitors why his buildings are significant points of interest—after all, he was the “first Black architect of Texas.”

The building legacy of William Sidney Pittman, who arrived in Dallas from Washington, D.C., right before World War I, stands at only seven surviving structures. UT Austin School of Architecture assistant professor Tara A. Dudley says: “His arrival provided African Americans in Texas access to a professional architect within the race — as opposed to relying on white architects as most did — and who, as a Black man, understood the needs and requirements of the African American community.”

Pittman, who was also a tremendously incisive polemic writer and early inspiration for Paul Revere Williams, died in March of 1958 with a portfolio of fifteen completed buildings in the state. Dudley and others are now ardently at work preserving his legacy there and in D.C. (where his 1912 Anthony Bowen YMCA design still stands). As she tells Texas Highways, “[His] work needs to be preserved for future generations as a testament to his significance in the profession of architecture in the U.S. in th...

Skanska and BIG complete curving terracotta-colored tower in Houston

2024-02-21T11:43:00-05:00

A team led by Skanska and Bjarke Ingels Group has completed a major new office tower in Houston, Texas. Named 1550 on the Green, the 28-story tower is part of a three-block master plan by Skanska, designed by BIG, with interiors by Michael Hsu.

Image credit: Skanska USA Commercial Development, Inc.

The 375,000-square-foot tower is primarily devoted to office accommodation, with ground floor space dedicated to hospitality. Other amenities in the scheme, per the project’s official website, include a 7,000-square-foot fitness center and a 9,400-square-foot tenant-exclusive rooftop event space.

Image credit: Skanska USA Commercial Development, Inc.

Externally, the tower adopts a multi-tiered, curved structure overlooking Discovery Green park. “Vines that will eventually creep along the terracotta-colored tower are meant to help the building blend into the surrounding park,” the Houston Chronicle writes about the tower. “The building's curve allows even tenants on lower levels to view Disc...

SOM completes Rice University’s new engineering and science building behind a patterned brick facade

2023-12-08T13:24:00-05:00

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has completed a new engineering and science building for Rice University in Houston, Texas. Named the Ralph S. O’Connor Building for Engineering and Science, the 250,000-square-foot facility seeks to “provide students and researchers with technology-rich facilities that align with the University’s goal to stay at the forefront of scientific discovery.”

Image credit: Dave Burk © SOM

The new building contains laboratories, classrooms, offices, a cafe, and gathering spaces. At the top level, meanwhile, a multi-purpose event space contains an outdoor terrace set against the backdrop of the Houston skyline.

The building is anchored by a five-story central atrium, imagined by the team as “a hub of activity” connecting the wider facilities. A glazed facade at the ground level visually connects the building with the Engineering Quad outside, while a cantilevered sculptural stair is framed by brick walls and a fritted glass wall on the upper levels.

Image cred...

Better Block Foundation, a nonprofit for open-source neighborhood design and ‘wikiblock’ urbanism, is hiring

2023-12-07T12:42:00-05:00

Following last week’s look at an opening for an Architect/Designer at Build Block, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for a Landscape Designer at the Better Block Foundation.

The role, based in Dallas, TX, “goes beyond the conventional office setting, requiring a genuine commitment to hands-on, physical work in the field,” according to the company. Among the responsibilities will be delivering site design and presentation materials, material sourcing and ordering, construction documents, and potential public speaking and development roles. “The Landscape Designer should be passionate about new urbanism and willing to swing a hammer, get paint on his/her clothing, answer volunteers’ questions, etc.,” the company adds. “This position is very hands-on.”

Before/After: Collaborative neighborhood placemaking. Image credit: The Better Block Foundation

Why the role interests us

The role at the Better Block Foundation offer...

Herzog & de Meuron updates Sixth&Blanco mass timber project in Austin

2023-11-16T19:00:00-05:00

Herzog & de Meuron has updated its plans for the forthcoming Sixth&Blanco mixed-use development in Austin, Texas.

The mass timber design will be realized as the firm’s first-ever completed work in Texas. The plan calls for a full city block construction with a hotel, office spaces, a residential component, and retail.

Image: © Herzog & de Meuron

Updated renderings provided by the firm a year removed from the project’s initial announcement show a more concise linear volume with added greenery and recesses minus many original facade elements in whose place a new open-air terrace has been created on the structure’s third level.

Image: © Herzog & de Meuron

New colorful reflective awnings were added at the drop-off point for shoppers and hotel guests. A total of 50,000 square feet of retail space is planned, along with ten apartment units totaling 4,600 square feet and located on the two uppermost floors. The design is organized around a central courtyard and sa...

Austin becomes largest city in the U.S. to dump parking requirements

2023-11-05T09:00:00-05:00

Austin on Thursday became the largest city in the country to stop requiring new developments to have a set amount of parking — a move aimed at both fighting climate change and spurring more housing construction amid the city’s affordability crisis. The Austin City Council voted 8-2 Thursday to wipe out minimum parking requirements for virtually every kind of property citywide. That includes single-family homes, apartment buildings, offices and shopping malls.

As noted by The Texas Tribune, housing advocates, developers, and climate activists have increasingly advocated for the erasure of parking requirements, which have been found to drive up housing costs and fuels a dependency on cars. Cities across the country in recent years, including Portland, Minneapolis, and San Jose, have taken similar actions to scale back requirements. In 2019, the L.A. City Planning Department released its Downtown Community Plan, called DTLA 2040, which included plans to eliminate parking requirements for all of downtown Los Angeles.

Previously on Archinect: Are vacant parking lots affecting the cost of housing? A new study in Boston sheds light on the issue

According to Austin City Council Member and the proposal’s author, Zohaib Qadri, keeping parking requirements contradicted the billions of dollars the city has set out to invest in its public transit system.

Opponents of the move worry that getting rid of parking requirements will redirect parking to near...

Four design teams shortlisted for former KKK site reclamation project in Texas

2023-10-11T17:51:00-04:00

A four-finalist shortlist for Transform 1012 N. Main Street’s adaptive reuse and racial equity project has been announced as part of a multiphase selection process that will eventually deliver the new Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Community Healing to Fort Worth, Texas.

The chance at redesigning what was once the Ku Klux Klan Klavern No. 101 Auditorium will fall on a proposal that best expresses and reflects the group’s reclamatory mission while “[prioritizing] community, equity, and collective healing in the design of the space” above all other considerations of site and material.

“The exceptional quality of the submissions prompted us to expand the initially envisioned shortlist from three to four teams and to extend our selection deadline for a few days,” Ben Crawford, the Chair of Transform 1012’s Design Architect Selection Committee, added. “We are thrilled to welcome these architects to Fort Worth to see how they could be a partner in reimagining the processes for enacting th...

15 featured architecture and design jobs in Texas

2023-10-05T11:34:00-04:00

If you're an experienced professional ready for a new architectural career opportunity in Texas, this newest edition of our curated job picks from Archinect Jobs is for you. Look below at this selection of 10 featured employers looking to grow with exciting roles across the state.

To explore specific job titles from the architectural profession, consult Archinect's Guide to Job Titles series. Also, follow our Archinect Tips series to improve your portfolio, resume, and interviewing skills, to increase your overall chances of getting that next job.

Perkins&Will seeks a Senior Project Architect - Education in Dallas
Experience and qualifications include 10+ years of experience, in addition to significant education experience; proficiency with 3D modeling, visualization, and graphic software; advanced experience in all phases and aspects of a project, including reviewing construction documentation; and strong verbal and written communication skills.

Federal Reserve Building by Perkins...

Your next job could be managing the Menil Collection’s iconic architecture

2023-09-27T12:41:00-04:00

Following last week’s look at an opening for a Landscape Designer at Balmori Associates, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an opportunity on Archinect Jobs for a Senior Project Manager at The Menil Collection.

The role, based at the Menil campus in Houston, TX, calls for an individual who will “lead museum and neighborhood capital projects and provide aesthetic guidance on architectural integrity and quality standards for the Menil’s buildings and grounds.” Among the credentials requested in applicants are a master’s degree in architecture or a related field, and a minimum of five years of project management experience in residential, small commercial, or related projects.

The Menil Collection Main Building by Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Image credit: Flickr user Rob Corder licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Why the role interests us

The open role at The Menil Collection offers us the opportunity to explore the private art collection’s championing o...

BIG-designed National Juneteenth Museum receives $1 million grant

2023-08-09T13:45:00-04:00

Bank of America has awarded a $1 million grant towards the development of the National Juneteenth Museum, designed by BIG. The money will contribute to the project’s estimated $70 million price tag. Located in Fort Worth’s Historic Southside neighborhood, the museum will serve as an epicenter for awareness and preservation of Juneteenth’s history. It also aims to revitalize the surrounding area by acting as an economic catalyst.

The 50,000-square-foot museum takes on a handcrafted design, utilizing materials such as heavy timber. It also draws on the local architecture of gabled rooftops. The structure’s undulating roof results in a series of peaks and valleys that combine to form a star-shaped courtyard in the middle of the museum. In addition, the building will feature 10,000 square feet of exhibit galleries, a 250-seat theater to host lectures, a speaker series, performances, and more, a black box, a business incubator for local entrepreneurs, and a food hall featuring local vend...

The DOJ says it will sue Texas over floating Rio Grande migrant barriers

2023-07-22T09:05:00-04:00

The Justice Department has put Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on notice that it intends to file suit over a floating barrier wall he erected in the Rio Grande River to keep migrants from crossing the border illegally. The letter, a copy of which was obtained by USA TODAY, gives Texas officials until Monday to commit to removing the barrier. If there is no response, the Justice Department will pursue legal action, the letter warns.

The buoys, which are manufactured off-site by a U.S./Dubai-based company called Cochrane USA, were already challenged by a local kayaking rental business owner who claimed their presence was damaging to the river’s ecosystem. The DOJ’s letter was met with a tweet from Abbott wherein he claimed "sovereign authority” over the international border. The news comes in the wake of another DOJ investigation involving potentially life-threatening commands given to a Texas DPS trooper regarding the handling of migrants, an allegation which Abbott apparently denies.

ICON, Lennar, and BIG reveal first completed Wolf Ranch model home in Texas

2023-07-21T17:55:00-04:00

The first 3D printed model home concept Wolf Ranch development, built by Lennar and ICON and co-designed by BIG, has been completed in Georgetown, Texas.

The initial of what will eventually turn into a 100-home development outside the rapidly-expanding state capital showcases one of eight different floorplans, which range in scale from 1,574 to 2,112 square feet, offering buyers three-and four-bedroom options within an expected price range of $475,990 to $559,990.

Image screen capture from ICON-3D Tech Wolf Ranch Trailer.

Striated walls made using ICON’s Vulcan 3D printing technology and patented Lavacrete material define the residence’s design, which comes complete with polished concrete floors, a rooftop photovoltaic array, and fixtures and furnishings.

Image screen capture from ICON-3D Tech Wolf Ranch Trailer.

The remainder of the development, which features a playful variety of forms derived from the 24 different elevation styles offered by the company, is nearing completion aft...

Texas begins installation of defensive buoys along the Rio Grande

2023-07-13T11:29:00-04:00

Texas began rolling out what is set to become a new floating barrier on the Rio Grande on Friday in the latest escalation of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s multibillion-dollar effort to secure the U.S. border with Mexico, which already has included bussing migrants to liberal states and authorizing the National Guard to make arrests. Setting up the barriers could take up to two weeks, according to Lt. Chris Olivarez, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The barriers are being deployed along a strategic 1,000-foot-long point in the Rio Grande. CNN recently reported on one local business owner’s attempt to halt their placement via a lawsuit. Abbott, for his part, promised "mile after mile" more.

The issue goes beyond affecting what an ACLU attorney called the “moral conscience of Texas.” As the suit’s plaintiff told reporters, “I know it’s a detriment to the river flow, to the ecology of the river, to the fauna and flora. Every aspect of nature is being affected when you put something that doesn’t belong in the river.”

(The buoys are designed by Cochrane USA, according to multiple sources.)

Selection process detailed for historic reuse of former KKK site as a cultural arts center in Fort Worth

2023-06-29T19:56:00-04:00

Transform 1012 N. Main Street, the non-profit coalition responsible for a new reclamation project targeting a former Ku Klux Klan auditorium in Fort Worth, Texas, has just announced the next phases of the selection process for an architect who will eventually deliver The Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Community Healing in what is being pitched as an "act of reparative justice" for the community.

Eight months after the process began, work will now continue towards the ultimate goal of creating a unifying cultural hub replete with state-of-the-art performance spaces, arts educational offerings, room for social service organizations that work with LGBTQ+ youth, a maker space, and exhibition areas dedicated toward social justice programming.

The Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Community Healing Exterior. Concept rendering by MASS Design Group. Courtesy of Transform 1012 N. Main Street.

The space is named in honor of Fred Rouse, a local Black man who was lynched by a white mob in 1921, t...

Michael Graves Architecture acquires Texas' Parallax Team as expansion continues

2023-06-21T16:58:00-04:00

Michael Graves Architecture has once again expanded its operation after announcing the acquisition of the Texas-based AEC technology consultants Parallax Team.

The firm’s fifth such expansion in the past 15 months follows the acquisitions of PGN Architects, Walter Robbs Callahan & Pierce, Waldon Studio, and Jose Carballo Architectural Group (each located in the mid-Atlantic market) and will buy the firm stakes in a new sector.

“We have been working closely with Parallax for some time, and have remained impressed with the way their team is able to seamlessly integrate these important technologies into day-to-day practice,” the firm’s President and CEO Joe Furey said. “When evaluating this acquisition, we were not only excited at the prospect of joining their team with ours but at the proposition of being involved with a company that has such unifying potential — both internally for our staff, and externally from an industry standpoint. Collaboration has been an essential part of our...

Snøhetta's Blanton New Grounds redesign opens at the University of Texas at Austin

2023-05-25T12:20:00-04:00

A recently completed project from three alumni Snøhetta staffers at the University of Texas at Austin’s Blanton Museum of Art has delivered an artistic intervention they say stands as a new gateway between the 51,000-student campus and its host city.

Principal and co-founder Craig Dykers, Managing Director Elaine Molinar, and Director John Newman, each School of Architecture graduates from the late-1980s, collaborated to enact a new canopy-like intervention that’s meant as a centerpiece to the museum’s $35 million Blanton New Grounds initiative.

Photo: Sloan Breeden Photography

Their solution involved a series of 40-by-30-foot metallic shade structures formed in the shape of flower petals to create a canopy of the new landscaped garden entrance to the museum while also framing Ellsworth Kelly’s 2018 monumental stone Austin chapel on the Blanton’s Moody Patio.

Photo: Sloan Breeden Photography

The petals double as a rainwat...

SWA and HKS construct park over Dallas highway to reconnect historically divided neighborhood

2023-05-24T11:04:00-04:00

SWA has unveiled the design, undertaken with HKS, for a major urban infrastructure project which seeks to reconnect a historically Black neighborhood in South Dallas. The Southern Gateway Public Green comprises a five-acre park in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, built to reconnect a community that was divided by highway construction in the 1950s.

Image credit: HKS

The park will be delivered in two phases, with infrastructure currently under construction to ‘cap’ the highway to allow the landscape to be built overhead. The finished scheme will feature event spaces, a market-style dining and retail area, and lawns.

Image credit: HKS

“SWA’s design was based on public feedback and reflects the neighboring communities that will benefit from it on a daily basis—communities that historically haven’t gotten a lot of say in what happens to them,” the firm said about the scheme. “It will also be home to a variety of native plants and trees, as well as educational exhibits about the histor...

HKS bid for Texas’ tallest skyscraper gets cut down

2023-04-28T12:12:00-04:00

Amid challenging conditions in the real estate and lending markets, a proposed 80-story residential tower that had been planned to be the tallest high-rise in Texas has now been scaled back to 45 stories. [...] Taylor Wilson, president of Wilson Capital, said the revised design comes in response both to feedback from Austin's Design Commission and to significant changes in the real estate and financial markets, which are grappling with rising interest rates and tightened lending standards.

The revised Wilson Tower proposal would have surpassed I.M. Pei’s JPMorgan Chase Tower in Houston as the state’s record-holder. KPF’s Waterline development is still on track to break it by 20 feet. The episode highlights the economic stasis affecting developers in the city’s insanely high-stakes CRE market as the impacts of the tech recession compound.

"We are making some changes to the ground floor in response to both the Design Commission’s feedback and changes to the vertical nature of the building in response to current market conditions," Wilson said via email to the Austin American-Statesman. "Construction costs and interest rates are both higher now than they were when we originally designed the project. We believe this new design is more appropriate to provide an activated ground floor while remaining feasible in today’s environment."

...

Michael Hsu Office of Architecture offers $20,000 pro-bono Design for All Partnership to south Texas nonprofits

2023-04-20T16:50:00-04:00

A unique new philanthropic initiative from Michael Hsu Office of Architecture (MHOA) is offering nonprofits in the Austin, Texas area the chance to win a $20,000 pro-bono consultation in the interests of providing much-needed space to organizations affected by the city’s rapid transformation into a new capital for America’s high-tech industries.

The firm recently announced it will be accepting design proposals for what is now its second iteration of the Design for All Partnership "seed program" that last year afforded the organization Austin Angels the chance to construct a new foster care facility at a vacant former church lot in the Buda neighborhood.

"A lot of these nonprofits are having a hard time finding affordable space," MHOA founder Hsu told the Austin Chronicle of his firm’s endeavor. "And there's all sorts of challenges in trying to build something even if they do find a space because it's so time-intensive. There's a lot of hidden costs, and part of this [partnership] i...

New AI-powered system uses images of stop signs to capture flooding data

2023-04-20T12:29:00-04:00

A professor from Texas A&M University is developing an AI-infused system to capture flooding data in real-time. The system, developed by professor of construction science Amir Behzadan, uses crowdsourced public images of floods to inform rescue and mitigation efforts.

Behzadan began developing the system in response to the lack of flood data-gathering measures in many neighborhoods around the United States. While flood gauges are operated by the U.S. Geological Survey and local governments, such maps often have limited coverage and do not provide detail on how floodwaters move in urban areas.

“When it comes to disaster impact, there are ‘data deserts’ — large areas in our communities in which we have very little information about the likelihood and extent of damage,” Behzadan explains. “If this data is available, informed decisions can be made about immediate needs like search and rescue, as well as longer-term needs such as debris cleanup, economic recovery efforts, and where insur...

Austin Transit Partnership names UNStudio, HKS, and Gehl to lead city's public transit expansion

2023-03-06T19:47:00-05:00

UNStudio, HKS, and Gehl have been selected by the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) to lead the architecture and urban design of Project Connect, a major expansion of the city’s public transit system. The voter-approved investment includes new light rail, expanded bus routes, a subway, and more services across Austin.

Austin voters approved Project Connect in November 2020, followed by the formation of ATP, an independent organization created in partnership with the City of Austin and CapMetro. It will serve to oversee the finance and development of the project, which aims to improve access to essential jobs, health care, education, and entertainment in the city.

Video courtesy UNStudio via Vimeo.

“The design team brings both broad international expertise delivering transit and public realm projects at the highest level of design and an acute sensitivity to Austin’s specific culture and heritage,” said Peter Mullan, ATP Executive Vice President for Architecture and Urban Design. “P...

Kevin Daly Architects completes new Houston Endowment HQ project

2023-01-11T18:02:00-05:00

Kevin Daly Architects (kdA) recently celebrated the completion of their new Houston Endowment headquarters project, designed in collaboration with Mexico City-based studio PRODUCTORA.

The 32,000-square-foot building stands beside the city’s Spotts Park and offers the 96-year-old Endowment a new and more sustainable location that is better suited to its organizational aims and the needs of its public representation overall.

Photo: Iwan Baan, courtesy Kevin Daly Architects.

Challenged with creating a building they say is simultaneously a “front door and a back porch” to the Endowment, the design team came up with a two-story hybrid steel and CLT solution that sits underneath a column-supported lattice canopy covering recessed volumes which are then lined in a dynamic facade of optic white aluminum rain-screen panels.

Photo: Iwan Baan, courtesy Kevin Daly Architects.

While noticeably similar to the 36-year-old Menil Collection just outside the city, the headquarters building also offer...

Texas continues with plans to use shipping containers as 'makeshift' border wall

2023-01-10T11:57:00-05:00

Gov. Greg Abbott announced in November that the state was moving large shipping containers to the banks of the Rio Grande near downtown El Paso — between official ports of entry — to keep out migrants [...] The Texas containers are on land managed by the International Boundary and Water Commission, the Journal noted. The binational agency enforces treaties between the nations, and evaluates various projects that could affect the Rio Grande.

Abbott’s double-down comes after an announcement from Arizona’s new Governor, Katie Hobbs, that they will dismantle their $80 million wall of shipping containers that were installed in the Colorado National Forest last year.

The plan also encroaches on lands managed by the International Boundary and Water Commission without a permit. This could potentially trigger a change in the flow of water in the Rio Grande floodplain that could cause catastrophic loss of life and other environmental damage, according to the agency.

Texas is adding shipping containers to the US-Mexico border in El Paso.

This is in addition to the razor wire and National Guard.

Together, the strategies are causing illegal immigration at that location to plummet.https://t.co/YPTJlkca5m
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) December 29, 2022

El Paso's homeless shelter system is currently overwhelmed by the influx, despite the makeshift barriers. The state's spokesperson for emergency management nevertheless told reporters ...

Diller Scofidio + Renfro issues update on historic Frank Lloyd Wright theater revitalization in Dallas

2022-12-12T18:50:00-05:00

Diller Scofidio + Renfro has shared new project details and a flythrough animation for their planned revitalization of the 63-year-old Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Kalita Humphreys Theater in Dallas.

The project’s scope revolves around a “faithful reinterpretation of Wright’s original design intent” that calls for the removal of several decades worth of accumulated additions; creation of a new “theater arts complex” outside that includes a new performance venue, two pavilions, and a 100-seat black box theater; demolition of the existing Heldt Building; and further development of the William B. Dean Park with an emphasis on “stitching” the site with the popular nearby Katy Trail and Turtle Creek attractions.

Image courtesy Diller Scofidio + Renfro

According to a press release, the final plans will be submitted to the city no later than December 31st of this year. Chicago-based preservation specialists Harboe Architects is also involved with the planning team, helping to restore the so...

7 featured architecture job opportunities in Dallas

2022-11-18T15:24:00-05:00

Looking for architectural job opportunities in Dallas? Check out this week's curated employment highlight from Archinect Jobs, with a selection of current openings for architects, environmental graphic designers, and sustainability experts in the Big D.

To look up specific job titles from the architectural profession, consult Archinect's Guide to Job Titles series. Also, follow our Archinect Tips series to improve your portfolio, resume, interviewing skills, and increase your overall chances of getting that next job.

Rafael Viñoly Architects seeks an Intermediate Architect/Designer for National Medal of Honor Museum
"Rafael Viñoly Architects seeks to hire an architect with a minimum of 5 years of experience, preferably in the design and construction of museums. The selected architect will work from a site office as part of a team that represents Rafael Viñoly Architects during the construction phase of a signature museum in Arlington, Texas."

RVA is also currently offering a Marketin...

HKS debuts revised plans for Texas’ tallest high-rise

2022-11-15T13:13:00-05:00

[...] Wilson Capital announced this morning that its redevelopment of the Avenue Lofts site will be significantly larger than previously reported. The multifamily residential building planned for the 0.8-acre property at 410 East Fifth Street, now known as Wilson Tower, is set to rise 80 floors to a total height of 1,035 feet — and yes, that would make the project the new tallest tower in Texas upon completion, exceeding the height of the Waterline supertall project [...]

HKS is behind the Wilson Tower project, which will complement the 43-story 700 River development that broke ground recently on a tract fast becoming Austin’s “second” downtown. The would-be new record-setter had been previously planned for only 54 stories and is now advertising lets for its 450 available luxury units. Amenities like a movie theater and indoor dog run are included in a four-story block. The rest of the program appears standard fare for a city that now boasts nine of the wealthiest 1,000 neighborhoods in the country.

Image courtesy HKS/Wilson Capital

"I don't think the need for housing is going anywhere," an unnamed developer told Austin Business Journal, referencing the state capital’s dual status as the fastest-growing city in America. "Looking into the future, when this building is planned to come online, we still see Austin with the incredibly strong fundamentals needed to support a project like this."

Image courtesy HKS/Wilson Capital

...

BIG and ICON’s community of 100 3D printed homes begins construction in Texas

2022-11-10T14:28:00-05:00

Construction has commenced on the largest community of 3D printed residences in the United States. The hundred-home 'Wolf Ranch' development was designed by Bjarke Ingels Group and 3D printing technology group ICON and is being constructed in the city of Georgetown, Texas, just north of Austin.

Concept image courtesy of ICON / BIG

The scheme is comprised of eight floorplans ranging from 1,574 to 2,112 square feet, split between three and four-bedroom units. The interior material palette includes printed wall textures and polished concrete floors, while the homes' exteriors will be chosen from 24 elevation styles. The roof of each home will also include solar panels.

Concept image courtesy of ICON / BIG

The interior and exterior walls will be delivered using a fleet of 3D printing robots, which the team believes will yield less waste and more design freedom. The development partners also see the accelerated construction process behind the community as a precedent for addressing the ...

Cornell professors are building the first multistory 3D printed structure in the U.S.

2022-09-22T11:25:00-04:00

Construction is underway in Houston on the first multistory 3D printed building in the United States. Designed by two assistant professors of architecture at Cornell’s College of Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP), the two-story, single-family home merges 3D printed concrete with a traditional timber frame, creating what designers Leslie Lok and Sasa Zivkovic believe is a precedent for future 3D printed multifamily and mixed-use developments.

When completed, the 4,000-square-foot home will contain three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a two-car garage, while a 40-foot-high chimney will make the home one of the tallest 3D printed structures in the U.S.

Construction progress using COBOD BOD2 3D construction printer. Image credit: Leslie Lok and Sasa Zivkovic/Courtesy of Cornell Chronicle

The project is the latest by Lok and Zivkovic to investigate applications of 3D printing in architecture. The professors, who are also co-principals of HANNAH Design Office, have previously experiment...

Related Companies expands into Austin with a pair of new office projects from Gensler and KPF

2022-09-19T12:39:00-04:00

The ever-changing skyline of Texas’ eccentric state capital is getting another pair of new additions after Hudson Yards developer Related Companies announced plans this month for two new separate Austin office buildings designed by Gensler and KPF.

Related says both projects will be located in South Austin and are slated to be completed in 2024 and 2025 respectively. The larger 15-story One Ladybird Lake tower is designed by KPF for a 3.3-acre plot located along the waterfront at the city’s Lady Bird Lake reservoir. Its total 475,000-square-foot construction will include a mixed program of ground-level retail spaces topped by office amenities with four wraparound terraces, a bar, green spaces, and an activated rooftop area created by the local landscaping concern TBG.

One Ladybird Lake by KPF. Image courtesy Related Companies

This is to be joined by a shorter 5-story development located half a mile to the south on 901 South Co...

Herzog & de Meuron designs a mass timber mixed-use development in Austin

2022-08-19T15:14:00-04:00

Herzog & de Meuron has unveiled designs for a mixed-use, mass timber development in Austin, Texas. When complete, it will be the firm’s first built project in Texas.

The Sixth&Blanco scheme, located in a district adjacent to downtown and the Colorado River, will span a full city block and include a hotel, offices, residences, shops, and dining opportunities. According to the architects, the design seeks to compliment the "existing vernacular store fronts, notable restaurants, stores, galleries, generous tree-lined streets, and the walkable character of the surrounding Clarksville neighborhood."

The developers hope to integrate within the program "generous greenery, passively-cooled indoor/outdoor spaces, an active neighborhood storefront and the use of a materials palette aligned with the historic fabric."

Image courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron

Within a continuous horizontal wooden structure, a collection of shops and restaurants occupy the ground floor, offices on the second floor, a...