801 Barton Springs | 106 FEET | 9 FLOORS | Complete

[The ATX]

I'll pile on with some love (kinda.) I like the middle and top sections because they are unique. But I can't quite get on board with the raised street level section. I guess this is in a floodplain, so they had no choice but to raise it off the ground a little.
I also like the randomness of the giant nut(?) laying in front of the building.

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by JoninATX

Looks European. General what's your opinion of it?

I don't know. I never really actually put any thought into this building. Did they decide to actually build it or is that piece of shit on the lot just a model of what could be? I've seen inflatable mock ups before. Please tell me this is an inflatable mock up so I can grab a sharp stick and deflate the damn thing.

And kudos to you JoninATX for the sly way of pulling me back into the discussion. But I can't agree with your assessment of it looking European because I'd be joining you in insulting European architecture. Unless you were referring to those fancy boxes they pack their shoes in.
My, my, looks like I'm out numbered again. Come on Drummer, tell everyone how much you love this thing too...

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by Urbannizer

801 Barton Springs by Darius Fontenette, on Flickr

With that garage exit smack dab in the middle of the front of the building, it makes it look like a cross between a catamaran and a container ship. I actually like the windows and I think it would have looked better without that exit being there, but I get that they had to put it there because of the space constraints. Ultimately, if it had better street interaction and presence then I wouldn't mind it so much.

[JoninATX]

Originally Posted by the Genral

I don't know. I never really actually put any thought into this building. Did they decide to actually build it or is that piece of shit on the lot just a model of what could be? I've seen inflatable mock ups before. Please tell me this is an inflatable mock up so I can grab a sharp stick and deflate the damn thing.

And kudos to you JoninATX for the sly way of pulling me back into the discussion. But I can't agree with your assessment of it looking European because I'd be joining you in insulting European architecture. Unless you were referring to those fancy boxes they pack their shoes in.
My, my, looks like I'm out numbered again. Come on Drummer, tell everyone how much you love this thing too...

I just had to General.

[H2O]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

With that garage exit smack dab in the middle of the front of the building, it makes it look like a cross between a catamaran and a container ship. I actually like the windows and I think it would have looked better without that exit being there, but I get that they had to put it there because of the space constraints. Ultimately, if it had better street interaction and presence then I wouldn't mind it so much.

But it's got great parking!

[ahealy]

Jeez that thing is fugly....looks like all the tacky new construction in Bouldin

[Jdawgboy]

Looks like a severely mentally reduced squirrel with a physical mutation with one eye stretched out way too much. Poor thing wants that nut but just can't reach it.

By the way the entrance has been discovered to have echo effects. Saw two guys lastnight walk up to it with a street cone and they took turns yelling through the cone up into the garage.


It reminds me more of something that you'd see in Tokyo.

[AustinGoesVertical]

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

Looks like a severely mentally reduced squirrel with a physical mutation with one eye stretched out way too much. Poor thing wants that nut but just can't reach it.

By the way the entrance has been discovered to have echo effects. Saw two guys lastnight walk up to it with a street cone and they took turns yelling through the cone up into the garage.


It reminds me more of something that you'd see in Tokyo.

This is officially the squirrel building! I think the problem with the building is the height and overall mass. A slender, cantilevered design may have worked with a ~400 ft structure but not this. It looks pudgy and truncated.

[austlar1]

This building looks the way it does because the NIMBY folks up on the hill fought tooth and nail to keep it squat and out of sight. They pulled out all the stops. I just happened to be at two different city council meetings during the planning stages for this building and watched the whole thing play out. It was disgusting to watch certain council members just roll over on this one, piling on one delay or change after another. I think after all of the dickering, the original developers walked away from the venture, but the new developers were stuck with the bargains that had already been struck.

[austlar1]

Originally Posted by ahealy

Jeez that thing is fugly....looks like all the tacky new construction in Bouldin

I gotta agree with you about the tacky new builds popping up all over the place in Bouldin. Considering the NIMBY outcry that always emerges from that neighborhood, you'd think they might want to take a closer look at all the cheaply built modernist single family housing that is changing the face of that neighborhood. Some of it is high quality, but most of it is just high priced trendy garbage.

[ahealy]

Originally Posted by austlar1

I gotta agree with you about the tacky new builds popping up all over the place in Bouldin. Considering the NIMBY outcry that always emerges from that neighborhood, you'd think they might want to take a closer look at all the cheaply built modernist single family housing that is changing the face of that neighborhood. Some of it is high quality, but most of it is just high priced trendy garbage.

Duuuuude. I know..... That hood is mostly a giant contradiction. I cringe every time I drive by the mega-mod-mansion that has a "#LOCALS" sign plastered on the porch.....

[futures]

I own a home in Bouldin.

I find the ever-changing look of the neighborhood very appealing. Cookie-cutter neighborhoods with houses all of the same architectural style can be a little boring to me.

People LOVE to complain about the new modern builds as if it isn't happening in EVERY neighborhood in urban Austin. I don't get it.

I love some of the old, and some of the new. Most of the new builds are substantial upgrades. I'll take a house designed by highly-recognized architects (Michael Hsu, Dick Clark, North Arrow, Dig:A, MF Archictecture) over a house in disrepair any day. Just like a new skyscraper downtown is more appealing than a 80's mid-rise. The stuff worth saving for the most part is.

Also, someone isn't allowed to be a local if they buy a new home??

/rant.

[austlar1]

I think the reason some of us react so strongly to many of the new-builds in Bouldin is because, unlike a lot of the other gentrifying neighborhoods of Austin, Bouldin had a truly Bohemian flair prior to gentrification. It was a bit like a funky Key West neighborhood perched on the hillside just above downtown. The demographic was eclectic and multi-racial. It has morphed into a super expensive enclave where new construction threatens to rip out the remaining more modest housing stock within the next decade. There is a sense of loss for many because living in Bouldin is increasingly something available only to the very well off. Also, some of us think that much of the mid century-redux style of architecture that is currently so popular in that area is not going to stand the test of time. Not all of it. There are some interesting homes being built up there, but a lot of them are nowhere near as charming as the modest homes they replaced.

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by austlar1

I think the reason some of us react so strongly to many of the new-builds in Bouldin is because, unlike a lot of the other gentrifying neighborhoods of Austin, Bouldin had a truly Bohemian flair prior to gentrification. It was a bit like a funky Key West neighborhood perched on the hillside just above downtown. The demographic was eclectic and multi-racial. It has morphed into a super expensive enclave where new construction threatens to rip out the remaining more modest housing stock within the next decade. There is a sense of loss for many because living in Bouldin is increasingly something available only to the very well off. Also, some of us think that much of the mid century-redux style of architecture that is currently so popular in that area is not going to stand the test of time. Not all of it. There are some interesting homes being built up there, but a lot of them are nowhere near as charming as the modest homes they replaced.

My cousin Oliver had a friend on Christopher Street who we'd go see once a week. Both were old hippies. The story goes that my cousin's friend Joe had moved to Austin from Hawaii to teach botany at UT. He had that house just the way he liked it. He had stained glass windows and the yard was filled with plants and "yard art". At some point, he had to go for back surgery and ended up in a coma from complications. His family basically wrote him off for dead and attempted to steal the house from him. They remodeled in preparation to sell it (I'm not sure how they managed that). Anyway, one day, while Oliver was visiting Joe in the hospital just sitting there talking with him even while he was in a coma, out of the blue Joe asks my cousin, Oliver, my feet are cold, would you hand me my socks? So of course, Oliver went running to get the nurses. Joe recovered after that and ended up going home to a house that had been changed and also neglected (his plants were dead). He basically severed ties with his brothers and sisters but had friends who would come visit to help out. He had meals on wheels to bring him food and a stair chair lift so he wouldn't have to climb the stairs. Oliver told me Joe was regularly getting offers on the house of $300,000. He turned every one of them down. All he wanted to do was stay in the house with his dog he'd lived in since the 70s. My cousin passed away 2 1/2 years ago from cancer, and while reminiscing about those times, I happened to notice via Google Earth that the house had been bulldozed - replaced with some big thing that doesn't look like it belongs there - no doubt Joe must have passed away. Most of the houses in that neighborhood weren't terribly small and had big lots that could have supported expansion. Most of them were from the 30s.

[ahealy]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

My cousin Oliver had a friend on Christopher Street who we'd go see once a week. Both were old hippies. The story goes that my cousin's friend Joe had moved to Austin from Hawaii to teach botany at UT. He had that house just the way he liked it. He had stained glass windows and the yard was filled with plants and "yard art". At some point, he had to go for back surgery and ended up in a coma from complications. His family basically wrote him off for dead and attempted to steal the house from him. They remodeled in preparation to sell it (I'm not sure how they managed that). Anyway, one day, while Oliver was visiting Joe in the hospital just sitting there talking with him even while he was in a coma, out of the blue Joe asks my cousin, Oliver, my feet are cold, would you hand me my socks? So of course, Oliver went running to get the nurses. Joe recovered after that and ended up going home to a house that had been changed and also neglected (his plants were dead). He basically severed ties with his brothers and sisters but had friends who would come visit to help out. He had meals on wheels to bring him food and a stair chair lift so he wouldn't have to climb the stairs. Oliver told me Joe was regularly getting offers on the house of $300,000. He turned every one of them down. All he wanted to do was stay in the house with his dog he'd lived in since the 70s. My cousin passed away 2 1/2 years ago from cancer, and while reminiscing about those times, I happened to notice via Google Earth that the house had been bulldozed - replaced with some big thing that doesn't look like it belongs there - no doubt Joe must have passed away. Most of the houses in that neighborhood weren't terribly small and had big lots that could have supported expansion. Most of them were from the 30s.

Thank you for sharing that with us, Kev. I'm sorry for your loss. Oliver and Joe seemed like salt of the earth guys.

Ahhhh Bouldin....

[kingkirbythe....]

It is a beautiful piece of sclupture.

[clubtokyo]

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

It reminds me more of something that you'd see in Tokyo.

Yes I agree, I think of Tokyo more when I look at this building than Europe.

[futures]

austlar1 and ahealy,

Thanks for your input, and I appreciate your insight. Sometimes I get a little defensive being a newer homeowner in Bouldin. I moved to the area for a lot of the things you mentioned, so I understand the sense of loss in how it is gentrifying. I'm hopeful that the charm will remain.

However, I enjoy a lot of the new modern architecture juxtaposed with 30's-40's bungalows. As someone who enjoys architecture, it's fun seeing all the different styles.

But back on topic, I actually really like 801. No surprise since I like a lot of the new modern residential builds!

[urbancore]

futures- as your Zilker neighbor to the west, i stand with you. the issue is VERY complicated and individualistic to each property/parcel.

Most of these older homes in South Austin were NOT built to last 100 years (Hyde Park and other neighborhoods, not so much). The houses that were well constructed, have not been MAINTAINED well. (this is hugely important) This forces you tear both down, because the cost to remodel an older home often means bringing the entire home up to new 2018 COA building codes (including ADA). These costs are tough to manage and often change during construction. The COA is brutal, yet they do not understand, care, or even acknowledge that they are a HUGE part of the problem of why homes are torn down and not remodeled. (I've spoken to Kitchen directly about this exact issue after a ZNA meeting, she was clueless and concerned that the cost to remodel was MORE than building new) But the biggest problem is not the city, its the shabby condition of the houses themselves. You can't let your home fall into disrepair and be surprised that nobody else wants your big ass mess, and would rather blade it.

austlar -I disagree that the new construction will fare worse than the mold infested, non-insulted, asbestos/wood cladded houses you see now. Sure there are some cheaper building methods compared to best practice, but overall, the houses built now will FAR outlast the ones they replaced, for better or worse. (i actually credit and applaud the COA for some there new building codes) My new house is massively energy efficient due to HVAC, windows, insulation, LED lights....all mandated by new code. My electric bills were higher in the 90's in my 1000 sqft apartment, than my 3150 sqft home. no shit.

In 20 short years, 78704 (along with '02) will be completely unrecognizable. On my block ALONE there are 5 new builds UC. That will not change till they all new. Every single one of them, and its not slowing down, its speeding up. And if Amazon comes........

[austlar1]

I am a big fan of modern residential architecture. I just don't think many of the new builds up in Bouldin measure up. Some of them are pretty good, but most are composed of architectural conceits that are mostly cliche references to a mid century aesthetic. I loved funky old Bouldin. I just never got around to trying to live there until it became too rich for my blood. Maybe this is just sour grapes. I would probably still like to live there, if I could afford it. I mean I live in a cookie cutter subdivision now five miles south of there. Who am I to complain about design standards in Bouldin?