The twin CSC buildings on Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin occupy a critical site in the revitalization of the city’s core. They emphasize the longstanding role of office buildings as “fabric” in the urban environment and draw their architectural character from urban design goals. The buildings each encompass 350,000 square feet, creating an appropriately scaled edge to the lake and parkland, and framing a public plaza with City Hall in between. On the lake side of each block, a courtyard is carved out of the building’s mass, opening up additional views and taking full advantage of the south light. Ground floor retail orients both to to the lake and to the lively Second Street Retail District to the north, where a historic building is preserved as part of the complex.
