奥斯汀办公楼设施空间翻新项目丨美国奥斯汀丨Lake Flato

Local studio Lake Flato has completed the renovation of an office building, revitalising its 1980s design and enhancing the building's presence at a downtown crossroads in Austin, Texas.

The 31,000-square-foot (2,880-square-metre) project was the latest note in the 40-year history of the building at 600 Congress Avenue.

Lake Flato has completed the renovation of an office building in Austin

When Lake Flato came onto the project, the team believed that the building's many renovations had obscured the successful parts of its original 1984 design by Houston-based Morris Aubrey Architect.

"We were inspired by the original lobby design, which had a central floor opening in the shape of a circle on the main lobby level," Lake Flato senior associate Jenna Steinbeck told Dezeen.

A 35-foot-tall green wall was installed in the lobby

Restoring the circular opening, the studio reorganised the lobby as the Lowyard lounge.

Influenced by the original biophilic design elements – like large built-in planters – Lake Flato installed a 35-foot-tall green wall by a local agriculturalist to mark the entrance along Congress Avenue and conceal elevator shafts.

The design was informed by the original character of the building

It features a five-storey atrium with a sculptural staircase and guardrail and concentric rings of interior storefronts that radiate from the central circle.

With natural light and warm, inviting spaces, the new lobby design encourages the building's occupants to linger and socialise.

The studio replaced darker materials with a light palette

The studio replaced the dark, artificial materials with a palette of white oak panelling, earthy textured plaster tones, light terrazzo floors and blackened steel accents.

"One of the primary challenges of the project was determining the limits of our interventions," Steinbeck said, explaining that the budget didn't cover the complete area of the five-storey atrium. "Our strategy was to focus on the areas that would be most impactful."

"We kept all new finishes below a 21-foot datum within the 80-foot atrium and introduced custom suspended lighting at that height to draw the user's gaze toward eye level," she continued.

"Because we were only updating some parts of the space, we also needed to ensure that the new finish selections complemented the existing design."

Light and airy social spaces encourage socialisation

To complement the Lowyard, Lake Flato also created the Highyard, a new outdoor terrace on the 26th floor that offers sweeping views of the city.

The roof terrace features a steel canopy with a vine trellis that shades teak decking, seating and steel planters with native plants.

The studio added a sweeping terrace to the roof

"The terrace adjacent to the lounge was previously unoccupiable and not pleasing to look at," Steinbeck said, noting the numerous unoccupied roofs that are a reality of the building's stepped form.

"The new outdoor terrace was so successful that several building tenants were inspired to transform the roof decks outside of their own suites to provide access to the outdoors to office users."

Among Lake Flato's other recent urban works are the expansion of the San Antonio airport with Corgan and the urban plan for Fort Worth's Panther Island development. The studio also recently teamed up with ICON to 3D print a ranch-style house in Austin for SXSW.

The photography is by Chase Daniel.

Project credits:

Client/developer: Beacon Capital Architect of record: BOKA Powell Design architect and interior designer: Lake Flato Landscape architect: Blacksmith Collaborative Structural engineer: Architectural Engineers Collaborative MEP engineer: Wiley Engineering Branding: McGarrah Jesse Art curation: CoCollect