TA24-J F-Pages - Flipbook - Page 80
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ow populated by a vibrant mixed-used community, the 700-acre Mueller neighborhood in Austin was formerly home to the Robert Mueller
Municipal Airport. While many families have walked the approximately onemile loop around Mueller Lake Park for years, there really wasn’t a compelling reason for pedestrians to journey north along the community’s principal
retail thoroughfare, Aldrich Street. That is, not until the recent completion
of Mary Elizabeth Branch Park along with a mixed-use apartment building
added wide sidewalks that now provide a pleasant, mostly shaded path between
the two parks.
Mary Elizabeth Branch Park provides a variety of amenities to the Mueller neighborhood and the surrounding community, including recreational
opportunities, a children’s playground and splash pad, and the Branch Park
Pavilion — home to the Texas Farmers’ Market at Mueller, among other community uses. As a 昀氀exible, air-conditioned event venue, the pavilion is a unique
feature for Mueller and, more broadly, northeast Austin. While the Mueller
development hosts other event venues, including the Browning Hangar, the
Amphitheater at Lake Park, and the event lawn at John Gaines Park, none
support the year-round programming that a conditioned space can o昀昀er.
According to Nick Faust, AIA, an associate at Lawrence Group who worked
on the project from its conception through construction administration, conditioning the pavilion was not always part of the project brief. “For a long
time — several years — there was a lot of debate over whether or not that
was the right decision for the project,” says Faust. From the outset, the project’s primary tenant was anticipated to be the Texas Farmers’ Market, and
their prior home — the Browning Hangar — wasn’t conditioned, so it wasn’t
necessarily a requirement for their new space.
Lawrence Group advocated for the owner to consider a facility that would
be enclosed and conditioned as a way to support future programming. Earl
Swisher, AIA, retired founder of Lawrence Group’s Austin o昀케ce, said the
team used 3D goggles as part of the project’s schematic design presentation to
the city of Austin as a way to explore design options. Both a conditioned and
unconditioned version of the pavilion went all the way through the construction documents phase and permitting before a 昀椀nal decision was made. And
the decision has paid o昀昀: In its 昀椀rst several years of occupancy, Branch Park
Pavilion has played host to AIA Austin’s 2022 Design Awards Celebration, ULI
Austin’s 2023 Marketplace, the Mueller Neighborhood Association’s 2023 Fall
Fest, weddings, and many other events. Andrew Clements, a resident of the
Mueller neighborhood who actively volunteers with the Mueller Neighborhood Association, says, “In the 昀椀rst few months and years, the pavilion has
been the hot new place to have an event in Austin.”
While the approximately 12,000-sf pavilion was always anticipated to sit on
the southwest corner of Mary Elizabeth Branch Park, what wasn’t clear was
how to organize the program. The building is largely a 昀氀exible shell designed
to accommodate temporary events, but the permanent features — restrooms
and service spaces — required solidity and enclosure. In a building that was
intended to be light, glassy, airy, and open, it was a challenge to decide where
the solid elements would land.
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ALL PHOTOS BY LEONID FURMANSKY
A deep roof overhang lends a civic scale to the entrance plaza.
The pavilion’s glass shell and white, metallic 昀椀nishes create a canvas
ready for temporary programming.
Right Large bifold doors invite connection between the park and pavilion.
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SITE PLAN
