BOKA Powell LLC announced today that a new full-service sustainable apartment development called "RiverView" near downtown Austin is under construction. The complex sits on a four-acre waterfront site along Lady Bird Lake with spectacular city and lake views, and is slated to open spring 2013.
BOKA Powell provided the planning, architectural design and interior design services for this 280,000-sf project, which includes 302 apartments, luxury amenities including a fitness center, resort-style pool, resident lounge, demonstration kitchen and business center, as well as access to hiking/biking trails. Four contemporary buildings ranging from five to 11 stories are clustered around a lushly landscaped courtyard and pool deck.
Clad with a mix of local brick, stucco, and metal panels, the exterior design is a juxtaposition of old and new. Soaring roof planes unify the buildings and focus the orientation of the project toward Lady Bird Lake.
The project is designed to be a model for green development and is seeking a LEED Silver rating. Green features include water-saving plumbing fixtures, low-VOC finishes, local and recycled materials, and preferred parking for fuel efficient vehicles.
Storm water entering the site is collected and stored in an underground cistern for irrigation of native plants.
RiverView is the first high-rise residential development south of the Lake in Austin.
The project will provide an improved hike and bike trail along Riverside Drive, and public access to the planned boardwalk along Lady Bird Lake.
Dallas-based CDK Realty Advisors LP provided the equity for this project. Southern Cross Constructions is the construction contractor, and The Whitworth Company is providing project management services. BD+C
Related Stories
| Apr 5, 2011
Top 10 Buildings: Women in Architecture
Making selections of top buildings this week led to a surprising discovery about the representation of women in architecture, writes Tom Mallory, COO and co-founder, OpenBuildings.com. He discovered that finding female-created architecture, when excluding husband/wife teams, is extremely difficult and often the only work he came across was akin to interior design.
| Apr 5, 2011
What do Chengdu, Lagos, and Chicago have in common?
They’re all “world middleweight cities” that are likely to become regional megacities (10 million people) by 2025—along with Dongguan, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, and Wuhan (China); Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo); Jakarta (Indonesia); Lahore (Pakistan); and Chennai (India), according to a new report from McKinsey Global Institute: “Urban World: Mapping the economic power of cities”.
| Mar 30, 2011
China's low-carbon future city
In 2005, the Chinese government announced its target to reduce energy consumption per GDP unit by 20% by the year 2010. After a multi-billion investment, that target has been reached. The Chinese Climate Protection Program’s goal to increase energy efficiency, develop renewable energies, and promote energy savings while reducing pollutant emissions and strengthening environmental protection is reflected in the “Future City” by SBA Design.
| Mar 30, 2011
Is the AEC industry at risk of losing its next generation leaders without better mentoring?
After two or three horrifying years for the AEC industry, we are finally seeing the makings of a turnaround. However, data developed by Kermit Baker as part of the AIA Work-on-the-Boards survey program indicates that between 17% and 22% of design firms are eliminating positions for interns and staff with less than six years of experience. This data suggests the industry is at risk of losing a large segment of its next generation of leaders if something isn't done to improve mentoring across the profession.
| Mar 29, 2011
City's design, transit system can ease gas costs
Some cities in the U.S. are better positioned to deal with rising gas prices than others because of their design and transit systems, according to CEOs for Cities, a Chicago-based nonprofit that works to build stronger cities. The key factor: whether residents have to drive everywhere, or have other options.
| Mar 29, 2011
Chicago’s Willis Tower to become a vertical solar farm
Chicago’s iconic Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) is set to become a massive solar electric plant with the installation of a pilot solar electric glass project.
| Mar 29, 2011
Read up on Amazon.com's new green HQ
Phase IV of Amazon’s new headquarters in Seattle is nearly complete. The company has built 10 of the 11 buildings planned for its new campus in the South Lake Union neighborhood, and is on-track for a 2013 grand opening.
| Mar 29, 2011
Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura wins Pritzker Architecture Prize
Portugese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura, whose precisely-honed buildings reflect the influence of the late Chicago modernist Mies van der Rohe, is the 2011 winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the field's highest honor.
| Mar 25, 2011
Qatar World Cup may feature carbon-fiber ‘clouds’
Engineers at Qatar University’s Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering are busy developing what they believe could act as artificial “clouds,” man-made saucer-type structures suspended over a given soccer stadium, working to shield tens of thousands of spectators from suffocating summer temperatures that regularly top 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
