Capitol Quarters is an innovative mixed-use building that seamlessly blends commercial and residential spaces, while championing sustainability, community engagement, and structural ingenuity. It is 5-stories and includes commercial space on the ground floor with 30 residential apartment units above.
Structurally, the building has a pier-supported slab on grade foundation, with a post-tensioned, flat-plate concrete slab above the 1st floor commercial areas to support the 4 levels of residential space above. The residential construction is typical wood stud and shear walls with pre-engineered wood trusses.
The Concrete Masonry Unit (CMU) staircases on each end of the building are also used for lateral stabilization. The design intentionally encourages use of the staircases rather than the elevator as part of an overall approach to sustainability and occupant well-being.
Sustainability was also incorporated through water capture cisterns and bike parking instead of auto parking spaces.
Some of the challenges that Structures was able to address included working within site constraints on the 0.25 acre site while maximizing the building footprint, providing room for the necessary utilities, and incorporating space for the 3 cisterns that would be used for water capture.
The top floor is a community hub, fostering interaction by creating welcoming outdoor spaces and incorporating the work of local artists. Because the outdoor space is above conditioned space with stacked walls and wood framing, a pedestal system was designed and carefully coordinated to provide customized support. The integrated planters increased the load capacity needed and the steel-framed canopy was carefully integrated with the existing structure.
Location: Austin, Texas
Size: 45,000 SF
Architect: McKinney York
Contractor: Lott Brothers
