Herzog & de Meuron Unveils Mass Timber Mixed-Use Development in Austin, Texas

Herzog & de Meuron Unveils Mass Timber Mixed-Use Development in Austin, Texas

Herzog & de Meuron have unveiled their latest mixed-use development in one of Austin, Texas’ most desirable districts. Dubbed ‘Sixth & Blanco’, the continuous horizontal wooden structure is nestled between vernacular store fronts, restaurants, stores, galleries, tree-lined streets, and walkable routes near the Clarksville neighborhood. The challenge of the project was to propose an architecture that takes key ingredients from its surroundings and distributes them throughout a dense yet permeable program.

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The architects tackled the project and site’s challenge with generous greenery, passively-cooled indoor/outdoor spaces, an active neighborhood storefront, and the use of materials that are aligned with the area’s historic fabric. 

The project offers occupants and passersby a human scale and sense of domestic comfort. Instead of a singular uniform gesture, the project is a complex compilation of many individual parts. The entire ground floor is occupied with an urban carpet of shops and restaurants, offices occupy the second floor, a hotel on the third floor, and residences on the fourth and fifth floors. For pedestrians, the building appears as a series of two-story structures organized around planted courtyards. The project steps back from the street and decreases in density as it grows taller, providing a network of exterior circulation spaces with gardens, courtyards, and porches on all levels. 

Construction is set to start in 2023 and be completed in 2025. 

Earlier this year, Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums has announced that OMA, Herzog & de Meuron, and ELEMENTAL will be designing three new museums in Doha that explore the themes of Islamic art, contemporary art, and evolution of the automobile industry respectively. Built along the Lusail Expressway, Herzog & de Meuron will design Lusail, a museum that explores the Middle East and Islamic Art across large gallery spaces, a library, auditorium, and other public facilities. The structure will display an extensive collection of paintings, drawings, imagery, sculptures, and scripture spanning across four large floors.