Construction has begun on Waterline, which will be located along Waller Creek, a small waterway that feeds into the Red River in Austin. American architecture studio Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) announced that the structure will be 1,022 feet tall (312 meters) and hold apartments, a hotel, and office space.
With its 74 stories, Waterline will unseat Houston's JPMorgan Chase Tower – measuring 1,002 feet tall (305 meters) – as the tallest building in the state of Texas, and will be the third supertall skyscraper to be built in the state.
The staggering tower with glass facades and a variety of thin transoms that crisscross the face will have a sloped top. The skyscraper will have three distinct sections separated by columns that leave room for semi-open spaces.
The first and lowest section of the building will be a pavilion that stretches along the length of the 3.3-acre site, which will hold 24,000 sq ft (7,315 sq mt) of publicly accessible retail and restaurants. Separated from the river by a preserved floodplain, much of the base level will be lifted 30 ft (9 meters) above the ground by structural pillars.
A canopy created between the columns and the envelope of the pavilion will hold entrances to the residential and office areas of the tower, while the landscaping from the park will be extended to create a more natural environment under the skyscraper. Above the base, a tower, rotated from the base to face the river directly, will have two distinct vertical parts separated by similar columns that create more canopies in the higher parts of the tower.
The section directly above the base will hold 13 stories, making up the 1 Hotel Austin. Above this section will be a rooftop pool. Offices will be spread over the next 27 floors, while the top 33 floors that make up the final section of the building will be reserved for residences.
KPF said that the team is targeting LEED Gold certification on the project. "Downtown Austin offers one of the most dynamic markets and skylines in the nation, and we're excited to help drive its ongoing transformation," said Seth Johnston senior vice president of Lincoln Property Company, who, along with Kairoi Residential, is the developer on the project.
