PODCASTS >
Arcat Detailed Podcast Episode
96: Perforated Aluminum Sunshades | T3 ATX Eastside
54m 58s | 2024 May 24
In this episode, Cherise is joined by Bobby Larson, Senior Associate at DLR Group in Chicago. They discuss the T3 ATX Eastside in Austin, Texas.
DLR Group in collaboration with developer Hines brings us the latest iteration of a mass timber building in Austin, TX.
East Austin has undergone significant redevelopment, particularly aimed at attracting a burgeoning younger demographic. Utilizing an undeveloped half-block previously owned by a local metal recycling company, the newest T3 building - or timber, transit, and technology building - finds its place within this evolving landscape.
DLR Group in collaboration with developer Hines brings us the latest iteration of a mass timber building in Austin, TX.
East Austin has undergone significant redevelopment, particularly aimed at attracting a burgeoning younger demographic. Utilizing an undeveloped half-block previously owned by a local metal recycling company, the newest T3 building - or timber, transit, and technology building - finds its place within this evolving landscape.
Photo Credit: DLR Group/Photographer: Brio Photography
The latest iteration of a mass timber building in collaboration with developer Hines looks towards the southern part of the United States where everything is bigger: Texas, and specifically its capital, Austin.
East Austin is seeing tremendous redevelopment targeted at a growing younger population. An undeveloped half-block belonging to a local metal recycling company became the site for the latest T3 (timber, transit, and technology) building.
DLR Group’s concept celebrates the local history of the site through a focus on the materiality and refinement of metal and wood. Celebrating the handmade, the grit, the artisanal, and all that has made East Austin what it is today, the building is bold, distinctive, and Texan to the core.
Each façade responds to the surrounding neighborhood in a unique and tailored fashion, grounding the property at a human scale and washing patrons in the warm richness of wood that few modern live-and-work buildings have.
Upon arrival, tenants and guests are greeted at reception by an artful furniture piece that celebrates the origination of timber structures and symbolizes the connection between nature and T3 developments.
A series of pivoting doors open to expand the casual work lounge for larger gatherings or events, or pivot closed to create a quiet library-inspired meeting destination. Local artisans and fabricators were engaged to produce custom hospitality-inspired modular and mobile furniture solutions that allow for endless reconfiguration and flexibility for the user.
The material palette layers the exposed timber structure and rich terracotta brick, contrasted by cold rolled steel—authentic materials found in this industrial Austin neighborhood. Bold and colorful art moments commissioned by neighborhood artists further reinforce the project’s connection to its place.
The residential units are modern loft-style residences with their own separate entrance from the office space and feature an exposed wood structure that measures 11 feet clear to the underside of the deck. The building features a daylit communicating stair and balcony with expansive views of Downtown Austin. In addition, the property features the Biker Commuter Lounge on the ground floor adjacent to the bike storage. Highlighting the significance of the location’s proximity to the area’s historic trail system, casual industrial qualities can be seen throughout, including an art installation made of up-cycled bike parts and a large wall graphic of the Lance Armstrong Bikeway. The property also offers lockers, showers, and three levels of below-grade parking for 220 cars.
As with any pioneering building system, each iteration improves on the last. Eight years after DLR Group began work on Hines’ mass timber design, the firm now has three built T3 projects in Minneapolis, Atlanta, and Austin. Additionally, there are more than six other T3 developments in various stages of design and construction across North America, including T3 Sterling Road in Toronto, T3 Wedgewood-Houston in Nashville, Tennessee, T3 RiNo in Denver, and T3 FAT Village in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The T3 projects in Toronto, Nashville and Denver are expected to be completed by early 2024.
Completed in November 2023, this property features 92,000 square feet of Class-A timber office space and debuts 15 corporate residential suites, a first for the T3 – Timber, Transit, Technology – concept.
Practicing from the DLR Group’s Chicago office, Bobby is an architect with a passion for community. He finds it rewarding to have a role that can physically and tangibly influence the spaces and places we live, work, and play.
While Bobby specializes in hospitality and workplace environments, he also champions cutting-edge sustainable solutions and leverages his experience in mass timber office building design to apply new ideas to hospitality projects.
Bobby views environmentally responsible design as doing more with less; and that the best design overlaps the three pillars of sustainable design: economic viability, social equity, and environmental responsibility.
Architect: DLR Group
Structural Engineer: Magnesson Klemencic Associates
Mechanical Engineer: Alvine Engineering
Project Name and Location: T3 ATX Eastside, Austin, Texas
The latest iteration of a mass timber building in collaboration with developer Hines looks towards the southern part of the United States where everything is bigger: Texas, and specifically its capital, Austin.
East Austin is seeing tremendous redevelopment targeted at a growing younger population. An undeveloped half-block belonging to a local metal recycling company became the site for the latest T3 (timber, transit, and technology) building.
DLR Group’s concept celebrates the local history of the site through a focus on the materiality and refinement of metal and wood. Celebrating the handmade, the grit, the artisanal, and all that has made East Austin what it is today, the building is bold, distinctive, and Texan to the core.
Each façade responds to the surrounding neighborhood in a unique and tailored fashion, grounding the property at a human scale and washing patrons in the warm richness of wood that few modern live-and-work buildings have.
Upon arrival, tenants and guests are greeted at reception by an artful furniture piece that celebrates the origination of timber structures and symbolizes the connection between nature and T3 developments.
A series of pivoting doors open to expand the casual work lounge for larger gatherings or events, or pivot closed to create a quiet library-inspired meeting destination. Local artisans and fabricators were engaged to produce custom hospitality-inspired modular and mobile furniture solutions that allow for endless reconfiguration and flexibility for the user.
The material palette layers the exposed timber structure and rich terracotta brick, contrasted by cold rolled steel—authentic materials found in this industrial Austin neighborhood. Bold and colorful art moments commissioned by neighborhood artists further reinforce the project’s connection to its place.
The residential units are modern loft-style residences with their own separate entrance from the office space and feature an exposed wood structure that measures 11 feet clear to the underside of the deck. The building features a daylit communicating stair and balcony with expansive views of Downtown Austin. In addition, the property features the Biker Commuter Lounge on the ground floor adjacent to the bike storage. Highlighting the significance of the location’s proximity to the area’s historic trail system, casual industrial qualities can be seen throughout, including an art installation made of up-cycled bike parts and a large wall graphic of the Lance Armstrong Bikeway. The property also offers lockers, showers, and three levels of below-grade parking for 220 cars.
As with any pioneering building system, each iteration improves on the last. Eight years after DLR Group began work on Hines’ mass timber design, the firm now has three built T3 projects in Minneapolis, Atlanta, and Austin. Additionally, there are more than six other T3 developments in various stages of design and construction across North America, including T3 Sterling Road in Toronto, T3 Wedgewood-Houston in Nashville, Tennessee, T3 RiNo in Denver, and T3 FAT Village in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The T3 projects in Toronto, Nashville and Denver are expected to be completed by early 2024.
Completed in November 2023, this property features 92,000 square feet of Class-A timber office space and debuts 15 corporate residential suites, a first for the T3 – Timber, Transit, Technology – concept.
Bobby Larson, Senior Associate, DLR Group (Chicago)
Practicing from the DLR Group’s Chicago office, Bobby is an architect with a passion for community. He finds it rewarding to have a role that can physically and tangibly influence the spaces and places we live, work, and play.
While Bobby specializes in hospitality and workplace environments, he also champions cutting-edge sustainable solutions and leverages his experience in mass timber office building design to apply new ideas to hospitality projects.
Bobby views environmentally responsible design as doing more with less; and that the best design overlaps the three pillars of sustainable design: economic viability, social equity, and environmental responsibility.
Additional Information:
Project Team List:
Architect: DLR Group
Structural Engineer: Magnesson Klemencic Associates
Mechanical Engineer: Alvine Engineering
