Spread across 1.3 million sf in Austin, Texas the new East Austin District will provide the fast-growing city with its first pro-sports stadium and large-scale music arena.
The 40,000-seat outdoor bowl is designed for large-scale soccer and rugby matches, music festivals, and other major events. The 15,000-seat multi-purpose arena is connected to the stadium and will serve as the home for Rodeo Austin, musical acts, basketball, and hockey.
Rendering courtesy of BIG.
The stadium and arena are joined by 190,000-sf of premium facilities and support functions. The separate buildings are unified by all-wooden interiors. Eight courtyards act as outdoor living rooms that connect the entire district. Visitors can gather in the public parks and plazas for communal gatherings, food truck scenes, recreation, and concerts. At the edge of the district are buildings for retail, shopping, dining, and hospitality. Youth education and enrichment are promoted via 28,000-sf of youth facilities.
Rendering courtesy of BIG.
“Like a collective campus rather than a monolithic stadium, the East Austin District unifies all the elements of rodeo and soccer into a village of courtyards and canopies,” says Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner, BIG, in a release. “Embracing Austin’s local character and culture, the East Austin District is a single destination composed of many smaller structures under one roof.”
The entire district is laid out in a checkerboard that appears as a latticed roofscape from above. The roof offers protection from the elements as well as a home for red photovoltaic panels that allow the entire district to be self-sufficient. The plan is for East Austin District to one day share its energy resources community-wide to power East Austin’s electricity and economy.
Rendering courtesy of BIG.
Rendering courtesy of BIG.
Rendering courtesy of BIG.
Rendering courtesy of BIG.
Rendering courtesy of BIG.
Related Stories
| May 29, 2014
7 cost-effective ways to make U.S. infrastructure more resilient
Moving critical elements to higher ground and designing for longer lifespans are just some of the ways cities and governments can make infrastructure more resilient to natural disasters and climate change, writes Richard Cavallaro, President of Skanska USA Civil.
| May 22, 2014
Just two years after opening, $60 million high school stadium will close for repairs
The 18,000-seat Eagle Stadium in Allen, Texas, opened in 2012 to much fanfare. But cracks recently began to appear throughout the structure, causing to the school district to close the facility.
| May 20, 2014
Kinetic Architecture: New book explores innovations in active façades
The book, co-authored by Arup's Russell Fortmeyer, illustrates the various ways architects, consultants, and engineers approach energy and comfort by manipulating air, water, and light through the layers of passive and active building envelope systems.
| May 19, 2014
What can architects learn from nature’s 3.8 billion years of experience?
In a new report, HOK and Biomimicry 3.8 partnered to study how lessons from the temperate broadleaf forest biome, which houses many of the world’s largest population centers, can inform the design of the built environment.
| May 16, 2014
Toyo Ito leads petition to scrap Zaha Hadid's 2020 Olympic Stadium project
Ito and other Japanese architects cite excessive costs, massive size, and the project's potentially negative impact on surrounding public spaces as reasons for nixing Hadid's plan.
| May 13, 2014
First look: Nadel's $1.5 billion Dalian, China, Sports Center
In addition to five major sports venues, the Dalian Sports Center includes a 30-story, 440-room, 5-star Kempinski full-service hotel and conference center and a 40,500-square-meter athletes’ training facility and office building.
| May 13, 2014
19 industry groups team to promote resilient planning and building materials
The industry associations, with more than 700,000 members generating almost $1 trillion in GDP, have issued a joint statement on resilience, pushing design and building solutions for disaster mitigation.
| May 11, 2014
Final call for entries: 2014 Giants 300 survey
BD+C's 2014 Giants 300 survey forms are due Wednesday, May 21. Survey results will be published in our July 2014 issue. The annual Giants 300 Report ranks the top AEC firms in commercial construction, by revenue.
| May 8, 2014
Sporting events in style: Infographic showcases novel stadiums of the world
UK precast concrete maker Banagher, which specializes in precast stadia solutions, has assembled a list of the world's top stadiums in terms of architectural and structural design.
| May 1, 2014
Super BIM: 7 award-winning BIM/VDC-driven projects
Thom Mayne's Perot Museum of Nature and Science and Anaheim's new intermodal center are among the 2014 AIA TAP BIM Award winners.
