multiple TBG projects nominated for ULI Impact Awards
There is exciting news to be shared! Six of TBG’s projects have been nominated for the ULI Austin 2021 Impact Awards under multiple categories.
Alliance Children’s Garden – Most Influential Project, Best Project Innovation, Best Project Design, Best Public Place
It’s Austin’s epicenter of play for all children — and all those with fearless child-like imaginations. Located adjacent to the iconic Doug Sahm Hill and Liz Carpenter Fountain, the Alliance Children’s Garden represents the final phase of Town Lake Park’s multiyear development — and the 20-year development effort is ending with a flourish. Drawing from the surrounding cultural and natural context, the park design promotes imaginative exploration through immersive features, including distinctive arrangements of locally sourced limestone and hills mimicking the Edwards Aquifer’s rare qualities. Elements like a rock and slide valley, oversized fire ants, life-sized chess, sand play and original works of art and music will celebrate Austin’s rich heritage in an irresistible way.
Austin Habitat for Humanity Mueller Row Homes – Most Influential Project
A unique approach to the Habitat for Humanity model, the Mueller Rowhomes promote attractive architecture for an affordable budget. Providing a large community impact, the rowhomes are within the walkable Mueller neighborhood with close proximity to downtown Austin. Shade trees and ornamental trees line the front of the rowhomes to provide future growth, habitat, and shade. A native, low water, low maintenance planting palette was selected for future homeowners to enjoy long term. A shared use path connects the rowhomes to the greater trail system and provides accessibility to the wide variety of pocket parks Mueller has to offer. Paseos are also used to connect the lots and further enhance connectivity throughout, encouraging walkability and connection to each other and the neighborhood. The development is setting a new precedent for the organization, creating an example for future builds.
Q2 Stadium – Most Influential Project, Best Project Innovation, Best Project Design
The new home for Austin’s first professional sports team is anything but merely a sports stadium — it’s a multifaceted civic destination with everyday allure exceeding far beyond sports. TBG has worked closely with Gensler Sports to lay the foundation for an immersive destination and catalyst to enhancements for the larger area through adaptive reuse of the McKalla Place site. The vision established to date prioritizes green infrastructure — including habitat creation, rainwater capture and reuse, pervious paving and drought-tolerant planting design — connections throughout the site and to adjacent destinations, and site activation for vibrant daily use, special events and match days.
Saltillo – Most Influential Project, Best Public Place
Long underserved and overlooked, east Austin is experiencing a full-fledged renaissance — and Plaza Saltillo exemplifies the area’s redevelopment potential as a vibrant, 18-hour activity hub. Encompassing six blocks of East Fifth Street from I-35 to the Plaza Saltillo transit station, the mixed-use development is bringing an array of commercial and residential components to the corridor in a compact, walkable urban form. The pedestrian-oriented design focuses on reconnecting the site to the larger urban area, improving connectivity, activating the edges, promoting community interaction though immersive paseos, and providing exceptional parks and open space for the community.
Waterloo Terrace – Most Influential Project, Best Project Innovation
Waterloo Terrace represents a more holistic approach to affordable housing. It responds to the construct of urban design through multifamily housing while celebrating the deconstruction of urbanity through natural elements. The entry sequence features large shade trees and lush native planting, creating an inviting arrival and a sense of place. Welcoming all users to experience life outdoors, the courtyard includes a large open lawn space, stone amphitheater seating, a firepit, and a community garden. Spaces within the courtyard encourage interaction between users and provide the backdrop for events and gatherings. Immersed in dense planting, all paths lead to the discovery of nature and education by engaging all senses. The sights, smells, sounds, textures, and even tastes of nature are all accessible within the courtyard.
Oracle Campus – Best Project Design
Oracle’s waterfront campus enjoys a symbiotic relationship with Austin’s culture and physical environment. It embraces the city’s values — love of nature, fitness and outdoor activities — in form and function, and reverberates those values back through stewardship, connections to nature and public realm enhancements. Located on the south shores of Lady Bird Lake just east of downtown, the campus needed exceptional allure to draw premier talent. Its location, graceful connection to the Austin fabric, and premier employee amenities and outdoor spaces were integral aspects. The technology giant embraced the Austin ethos and preserved multiple heritage trees that were transplanted on site, along with reforestation/revegetation efforts, and improved connectivity to the adjacent Butler hike-and-bike trail.
