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.
This is to be joined by a shorter 5-story development located half a mile to the south on 901 South Congress Avenue that includes a "boutique" 106,854-square-foot mass timber structure. Related touts access to the nearby Entertainment district as its biggest draw. The local website Towers noted that it will replace a three-building apartment complex on a site first developed in 1998.
The announcement comes on the heels of last week’s news that KPF has been selected as the designer of what will eventually surmount I.M. Pei’s J.P. Morgan Chase Tower in Houston for the title of the state’s tallest building. As Related mentioned at the announcement, the Gensler design will be the first built mass timber project for the developer as they look to leverage recent advances and market trends into their building programs. A press release noted that 901 South Congress' use of the popular product will end up saving 20 tons of CO2 from being emitted.
"Leading companies in every sector, many of them already Related tenants in other markets, are increasingly establishing and expanding their presence in Austin to capitalize on the talent migration to America’s fastest growing city," Related EVP Mike Iannacone said of the company's first foray into the growing city. "The time is right for a new class of luxury office space that supports the city’s world-class workforce."
5 Comments
Poor Austin!
So true. The amount of bad recent architecture there is astounding. Especially the high-rise stuff.
It's unfortunate the amount of 2nd rate skyscrapers being erected all over Austin. These are going to stick around for the next half century. The multifamily stuff is pretty ho-hum and the commercial towers are definitely not up to par with other cities'. I guess Austin real estate returns simply don't justify the design premium that some cities could afford. Chicago faces the same problem but there have been some gems in the past decade along the river.
I blame the developers' low level of architectural knowledge and taste and a lack of design vision at places like Gensler and KPF. The developers of the 1970's and 80's did many good, economical skyscrapers in Houston and Dallas with SOM, I.M. Pei, Philip Johnson, and others.
I blame the poor management of states like CA creating a refugee crisis in well managed cities. Half the cars I see have CA plates, and they still drive like they are in CA. Annoying people yay!
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