Inside, the former lobby has been transformed into Austin’s first food hall, which serves dishes from six local eateries, as well as creative meeting and co-working spaces. Altogether, these elements give the space a reinvigorated sense of purpose. Raised wooden platforms, drink rails, and movable furniture provide a variety of options for gathering and people-watching. Two sculptural elements enliven the plaza: Cloudscape, a fountain that emits a cooling mist collected from air conditioning condensate, and Nimbus, an airy shade structure whose intricate shadows echo the dappling effect of the adjacent tree canopies. An accessible ramp meanders through a landscape of native and adapted plants beneath a canopy of heritage oak trees, while a lawn of synthetic grass reduces water use and provides a soft place to relax year-round. The landscaping consisted mostly of grass, and the only way to access the sunken plaza from the street was by stairs.įareground reimagines the plaza as part marketplace (“fare”) and part park (“ground”), aligning the public plaza with the vision of Congress as a modern-day Main Street. Prior to its renovation, the plaza was a virtual waste of space, with a handful of park benches and the obligatory water feature that characterized corporate design in the 1980s. The multipurpose food hall and plaza illustrates the ability of thoughtful design to transform the type of underutilized urban spaces found throughout many American cities. Located across the street from The Line Austin and sharing the same architect, Fareground repurposes a desolate, underused public space by providing people with (wait for it) a reason to be there.
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