In North Austin, Lisa LaPaso is hard at work creating wonderful, sustainable landscapes for everyone to enjoy!  Her landscape creations are chemical free, the way nature intended.  Whether you live downtown or in the suburbs, she has ideas for you and your garden.  Get in touch with Lisa’s Landscape & Design, ”Saving the Planet one Yard at a Time”.  You can visit Lisa online at www.lisalapaso.com or on her Facebook page Lisa’s Landscape&Design.

“Regionalism, functionalism, expressionism and minimalism.” Austin architect, David Webber, uses these words to describe the north Austin renovation that Webber Studio undertook recently. This home is part of the AIA Austin 2010 Homes Tour (home “A” on the tour).

David describes the goals that he and his clients had for this project, some of the materials used and Austin’s progress on the sustainability path.

The AIA Austin Homes Tour is in its 24th year and is nationally recognized as the prime example of a homes tour. Sally Fly, executive director of AIA Austin, gives us insight into the 2010 tour and Austin architecture.

Did you know that the Frost Bank Tower was the first high-rise building in the USA to be constructed after the 9/11 attacks?  True.

As we approach this anniversary (also my son’s birthday), we’d like to remember the fallen by showing this architectural example of our resilience.

Just a few notes about the Frost Bank Tower…

It’s 515 feet tall and 33 stories.  It wasn’t long ago that it was the tallest building in Austin, but now, it’s third on that list.  Hey, biggest isn’t always best!

While some love the aesthetic of the building, others have said it looks like a nose hair trimmer.  The rumor that it was designed by Rice alumni comes from it’s owl-like look when you view it from one of the building corners.  Whatever you think, there’s no doubt that this building has made an impression on the Austin skyline.

Photo by Nicole Williams

www.nwdphotography.com

The Austin Music Hall has been around for a long time, but when it needed a facelift, Sixthriver Architects were brought in to make it happen.  In this interview, Eric Herron describes what went into this project and some of the challenges that were faced.