The Austonian to be Green, Austin's Tallest Tower (S2)

In a city known for its aversion to development and proudly celebrated with the phrase "Keep Austin Weird," what does it take to get the go ahead approvals on what will be the tallest tower in the skyline?  Quite simply, a commitment to green building.  The Austonian, developed by Benchmark Development and designed by Ziegler Cooper Architects, is going to be one of a kind in Austin.  And judging by the renderings, it's going to tower over everything else in the city, too.  The 56-floor building will have 188 residential condominiums, with pricing from $550,000 (rough revenue analysis = 188 * $550k = $103.4 M).  But there's also going to be some ground floor retail, and according to Emporis, construction is expected to be complete in 2009.

The Austonian will be built to Austin's well-known Green Building Program, with features such as a rainwater capture system; high-performance, low-E glass walls; Mecho-Shades; and Energy Star-rated appliances.  There's also going to be an urban garden a first-class fitness room on the top floor.  The tower will feature a glass and aluminum “skin” that is layered to provide depth to its slender shape.  So, all in all, it looks good and if you're going to build high, at least it's in the middle of downtown. 

Via MHN. 

::"S2" is short for "Skyscraper Sunday," a weekly article on green skyscrapers posted every Sunday::

Comments

[Timothy]

I love Austin and the fact that it's "weird" which is one of the reasons they are one of the most progressive cities when it comes to building green. I'd rather see shorter green buildings though.

[Dan`]

Yeah, I love living here just for that reason. BTW, if you're interested in keeping Austin green, check out the local company www.greenhomelove.com/austin