Bouldin is the quintessential Austin neighborhood. It is the perfect blend of urban walkability and abundant nature. Located along Bouldin Creek, this neighborhood affords its residents a connection with natural features as well as some of the best restaurants and shopping Austin has to offer. PSW’s latest mixed use project, 900 South First, is a direct reflection of the neighborhood. At the ground floor, retail amenities surround a landscape of historic live oak trees. Decks and paved areas at a variety of levels, both sunken and at street level, will allow residents and neighbors to enjoy this unique urban landscape, and users are encouraged to cut through this park to the neighborhood and trail system behind, which leads down the to Bouldin Creek.

On the upper floors, PSW has crafted a residential building that reflects both the modern urban dweller’s functional needs while also celebrating the unique siting in a grove of trees. While the most efficient building would have been a rectangular block, the form of the building is J-shaped, to allow the building to hug the existing tree canopy and provide a greater variety of views and experiences for the residents and other building users.

The materials used on the building are a combination of floor to ceiling glass, deep profile metal siding, wood and board formed concrete. At the ground level, the glass wraps around the retail/office areas to create brightly illuminated interior spaces, while the panels of board formed concrete create a pattern in these walls that is carried to the large plaza walls that act as large tree wells. The goal is to create a seamless architectural experience between the sunken landscape retaining walls of concrete and the adjacent ground floor commercial walls. At the upper levels, deep profile metal siding, far sturdier and providing more longevity than traditional metal siding, provides a new take on monolithic cladding. This material is low maintenance while providing an elegant relief and shadowing. Floor to ceiling glass is used to connect indoor spaces to exterior spaces, while wood siding is employed at balcony insets to give a warmer feel to the more tactile surfaces that residents will directly experience.

The units are designed with a mindful attention to balancing expansive living spaces with carefully appointed bedroom suites. Kitchens have been designed to provide generous amounts counter space and state of the art appliances. Cabinet layouts and closet designs suit the modern urban dweller while providing plentiful storage and thoughtful functionality.