Image: Sabine on Fifth / Facebook
One of the more common complaints leveled against the ongoing growth of downtown Austin condo and apartment towers is that the new buildings rising around us all look the same. General architectural trends and the material similarities of most modern structures have contributed to that argument, at least in some cases, but the criticism we hear the most about similar-looking buildings isn’t even really that complicated — they’re all just “boring glass boxes,” people often say.
We like glass just fine, but when you look around you’ll find plenty of residential tower architecture in the central city featuring brick exteriors, using materials that for many have a deeper sense of permanence. Some are old, some are new, some use real bricks and others are probably using that faux brick veneer stuff — either way, the point is that they aren’t “glass boxes” and have a completely different feel:
Westgate Tower
Two views of Westgate Tower. Images: Wikimedia Commons
One of Austin’s original residential towers, the love-it-or-hate-it modernist brick exterior of Westgate Tower by renowned New York architect Edward Durell Stone and the local design duo of Arthur Fehr and Charles Granger has graced the northwestern corner of downtown near the State Capitol grounds since 1966.
The Ashton
An ad for Acme Brick using the Ashton apartments as an example of brick’s use in a modern building. Image: Texas Architect
This downtown apartment tower isn’t old, unless you think 10 years old is old — although considering Austin’s growth since its completion in 2009, it feels like this tower’s been at 101 Colorado Street for a pretty long time. Thanks to its red brick elements, the look is still markedly different than other new-build residential structures around here.
Gables Republic Square / Hotel ZaZa
Looking up at the Hotel ZaZa / Gables Republic Square tower from Guadalupe Street. Photo by James Rambin.
Perhaps the most authentic masonry tower built in the city in the last several decades, the recently-opened 24-story brick structure at 401 Guadalupe Street contains the Gables Republic Square apartments and the Hotel ZaZa, which has done some interesting things with bricks on the ground floor as well. Representatives of the project have told us before that the process of building a modern tower with masonry was challenging, to say the least — but you can’t argue with the results.
Brown Building
The Brown Building’s entrance facing Colorado Street. Image: James Rambin
Originally completed in 1938 as an office building with a masonry exterior by architect Charles Henry Page, the Brown now contains some of downtown’s most historically interesting apartments after an early-2000s loft renovation.
Sabine on Fifth
Image: Sabine on Fifth / Facebook
Converted from a 1984 office complex, the Sabine on Fifth condos don’t really look like any other residential building around, in our opinion — with their modern, but still classy brick exterior, they’re kind of underratedly cool in a big-city way we don’t see much of here compared to somewhere like, say, Chicago. The tower’s proximity to Waller Creek and the Sabine Street Promenade makes Sabine one of the more well-situated downtown Austin condo communities — plus, the Hilton next door blocks a lot of sound from I-35, making the area downright tranquil by downtown standards.
Nokonah
Exterior view of the Nokonah from Duncan Park
A small condo tower rising a scant 11 floors at 901 West Ninth Street on the far western edge of what we consider downtown Austin, the Nokonah was unmatched as a luxury community at the time of its completion in 2002 — and as we know from some of the other communities on this list, bricks are a big component of high-end residential buildings. They just feel classy, okay? At this tower, you’ll find plenty of bricks used in the exterior, with the traditional red and darker slate versions making appearances.
Brazos Place
A view of the Brazos Place condos from the corner of Brazos and Eighth Streets.
You don’t see a lot of tall buildings in town with the light gray masonry of Brazos Place, but it’s a striking design — originally opened in 1950 as the Commodore Perry Hotel with design by local architect Hugo Franz Kuehne, the building underwent an office conversion in 1984. Third time’s the charm and all that, so in 2008 the former office opened once more as loft-style apartments. The beauty of its design, bricks included, made it look good during all three of its lives.
Latest Downtown Austin Condos For Sale
-
$385,000
54 Rainey ST #703
Austin, TX -
$700,000
54 Rainey ST #1212
Austin, TX -
$4,450,000
210 Lavaca ST #3305
Austin, TX -
$625,000
54 Rainey ST #521
Austin, TX -
$1,049,000
555 E 5th ST #2729
Austin, TX -
$449,000
222 West AVE #1709
Austin, TX -
$2,250,000
200 Congress AVE #40G
Austin, TX -
$495,000
54 Rainey ST #PH20
Austin, TX -
$2,195,000
98 San Jacinto BLVD #1601
Austin, TX -
$1,050,000
200 CONGRESS AVE #15A
Austin, TX -
$1,334,900
301 West AVE #4403
Austin, TX -
$1,499,000
98 San Jacinto BLVD #708
Austin, TX -
$795,900
603 Davis ST #1202
Austin, TX -
$742,900
501 West AVE #3402
Austin, TX -
$569,000
360 Nueces ST #1104
Austin, TX
-
$385,000Lot Size218 sqft
Home Size865 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
$700,000Lot Size305 sqft
Home Size1,164 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$4,450,000Lot Size262 sqft
Home Size3,709 sqft
Beds4 Beds
Baths5 Baths
-
$625,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,164 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$1,049,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size2,099 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
$449,000Lot Size218 sqft
Home Size685 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
$2,250,000Lot Size131 sqft
Home Size1,920 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
$495,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size798 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
$2,195,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,516 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
$1,050,000Lot Size88 sqft
Home Size1,225 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths2 Baths
-
$1,334,900Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,467 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$1,499,000Lot Size393 sqft
Home Size1,672 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
$795,900Lot Size305 sqft
Home Size1,597 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$742,900Lot SizeN/A
Home Size846 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths2 Baths
-
$569,000Lot Size131 sqft
Home Size998 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
