In 2019, Austin was named our nation’s fastest growing large city. With 150 new residents moving to the city every day, 70 Rainey sought to celebrate what it means to responsibly live today in the Texas Hill Country by reinvesting in downtown Austin and elevating the experience of multi-family development. Situated at the confluence of Waller Creek and Lady Bird Johnson Lake, the 34-story condominium - a collaboration with Page/ and Markzeff Interiors - synthesizes architecture and landscape in a way that had not been previously explored within the Austin’s burgeoning skyline. When viewed from afar, its most striking feature is its 10th floor sky garden, set among a grid of 30-foot-tall canted, exposed concrete columns. Here, the terrace projects the value of landscape as art and provides its 164 residents with a verdant refuge from the bustling urban environment below.
The design of the sky garden responds to the two forms of the building – a rectilinear podium that responds to the urban grid of the surrounding Rainey District and 14-degree twist parallelogram to allow for views down the Colorado River. The design channels its contextual landscape to establish immediate connections to nature and to help drive its various amenities. Along its eastern side, immersive garden rooms – enveloped by over 70 of native and adapted plant species – offer sunrise views and shaded afternoon nooks. In contrast, the western edge gives way to unimpeded views across a dramatic infinity lap pool to the lake and distant horizon beyond. Seeking refuge, the northern edge leverages shaded areas with communal dining tables and lounge seating that inspire social interaction, while man’s best friend takes priority through a dog run along its southern edge. Popularly dubbed by locals as Austin’s own Hanging Gardens, cascading plants trail from the parapet through innovative suspended planters, linking the building to the lush adjacent parkland.
Credits:
- JAS Irrigation - Irrigation Designer
- Sckman Enterprises, Inc. - Developer
- Markzeff - Interior Designer
- Cardno Haynes Whaley - Structural Engineer
- Stantec - Civil/MEP Engineer
- Page/ - Architect
- Brandon Huttenlocher - Photographer
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