Prairie Circles

PROJECT DETAILS Budget: $1.3 million | Size: 1.8 acres | Awards: SITE Silver Certified

Empty Urban Lot Turned Hub

The Richard E. Moya Bus Plaza represents a true evolution of space, turning an empty, barren landscape into a hub for people to use and enjoy that seamlessly enhances—and seems to have grown—from the Texas Blackland Prairie. This plaza, located in Austin, Texas, was achieved through the combined efforts of the Capital Area Rapid Transit System (CARTS), Jackson McElhaney Architects, McCann Adams Studio and Civilitude. The city of Austin’s bus system flows through here, as do buses coming in from other, smaller towns. The plaza serves more than 600 riders every day. Previously, the site was ecologically bereft of anything. It was an urban site. Those involved wanted to create a space for everyone and anyone to gather.As Jennifer Orr explains, “It was a client that cared. This project was
definitely thoughtful.”

Jackson McElhaney Architects designed the circular building that anchors the design. The site radiates out from the building. There, among the large system of buses coming in and out, are two verdant plazas where riders can wait, but the unusually peaceful nature of the design seems to invite anyone to stop a while.

The site architects were inspired by this round building. It reminded them of natural drainage
patterns found on the local prairie. They then attempted to mimic a more hilly landscape with lots of dips in the design. These dips help in managing stormwater. All stormwater is dealt with on-site through either rain gardens or grating. The site has the capacity to retain all stormwater from a 100-year storm event.

Ilse Frank was the main person at Studio Balcones in charge of this project. “This project is a perfect example of follow- through,” she says. “SITES gives a guideline to follow. This makes it easy to push for the sustainability that you would like to have. This is a showcase project for dealing with native material and stormwater.”

One of the greatest challenges, as well as the most rewarding part after it was accomplished, was becoming SITES certified. As Jennifer Orr of Studio Balcones explains, “SITES certified projects have many requirements, such as where your materials are sourced and so on. It is like an eight-point documentation process. The design, the space, stormwater requirements, plants, soils and products have to come from less than 100 miles away. It is more rigorous in many ways than LEED certification, because of the consideration for the landscape. After doing it enough, it becomes something one considers all the time.”

The project began in 2016, because this process required long-range planning and patience. Studio Balcones gave the contractors plant lists very early. They looked at the local nurseries to see what they grew. There is signage identifying the plants, another aspect that speaks to the thoughtful nature of the project.

“All the plants are native to Blackland prairie,” adds Orr.

"This was a challenge. We have to order
those plants or have them grown."

After projects such as this, that incorporated and used local sourcing, Orr has learned that there is a great benefit to keeping sources local. She says, “Now I do choices to the client that are limited to a more local source.”

The project build took place just before the pandemic, and so it was an unusual time to debut this new plaza. In addition to pandemic shutdowns, Texas had a historic freeze in 2020. Everyone involved held their breath about the installation, but the plants survived. This speaks to their nativity in the area. Another pandemic-related challenge was that between the pandemic and bad communication, the maintenance crew didn’t come for a few months. Orr says, “We were worried the weeds would kill it, but again, it bounced back. We had the right soil and the right plant material. It is resilient.”

One important part of the SITES certification is that they require maintenance for five
years. The landscape architects wish that all projects had this stipulation, as the maintenance part of the process can sometimes get overlooked. Studio Balcones is required to do walks and check on the site. This is part of the construction administration.

“I would like to write this into every single contract,” says Orr.

"There is so much to be learned there.
A Landscape Architect hates to see a project die."

Get in Touch with...

Studio Balcones
Austin, Texas
www.studiobalcones.com