studio tour

Beyond the bracelet: Livestrong's Austin headquarters promotes thoughtful design

Exterior of the East Austin Livestrong Foundation headquarters
Photo by Casey Dunn
Livestrong headquarters front desk, environmental graphic design by FD2S
Photo by Casey Dunn
Meeting room built from re-planed wood from the building's former roof, linedwith brand-supporting design work by FD2S
Photo by Casey Dunn
The boardroom featuring a SolidCore table created from a naturally fallen tree
Photo by Casey Dunn
The cafe and informal meeting area for employees and clients
Photo by Casey Dunn

Many people know the LiveStrong Foundation by its unmistakable yellow wristbands. The rubber bracelets signify the Livestrong Foundation’s mission (lead by founder, cyclist and cancer-survivor Lance Armstrong) to raise cancer awareness and empower people to live life to the fullest — fighting illness or not. That life-guiding principle also found its way into the integrity of the architecture of the nonprofit’s Austin-based headquarters, ripe with smart design decisions that garnered the Foundation a gold-rated LEED certified status.

Livestrong faced a unique challenge from the get-go: to design and build a space that would not only be really, really good-looking, but support the business' core values, some of which read: "We change the way the world fights cancer;" "We honor the fight — your fight;" "We call for action in a global community;" "We voraciously pursue excellence;" "We do this by serving you."

"The idea was that if we built a location [outside of East Austin]. . .it would be hard to have cancer constituents engage with us as frequently and as often." - Greg Lee

What visitors will see, as a result, is a thoughtful reuse of materials and spatial planning for business needs (including a Cancer Navigation Center for the cancer-stricken community) by Lake|Flato Architects and designers of The Bommarito Group. The East Austin location won out over 27 potential properties owing to its proximity to the subset of the population that really needed LiveStrong's assistance.

"The idea was that if we built a location in other parts of town, we could have a headquarters, but it would be hard to have cancer constituents engage with us as frequently and as often," said CFO and Executive Vice President Greg Lee.

And so visibility, proximity to mass transit and a 1950s warehouse ripe with possibilities begged the Foundation to call it its home. Construction began by blowing out the roof, removing and reusing 200-foot wooden beams and 26 tons of concrete (Those parking stripes in the parking lot? That's not paint; those are 18-inch pieces of concrete turned on their edge.).

Eleven freestanding conference rooms were created out of re-planed wood from the former roof and left in different stages of completion to serve different collaborative purposes, be it a casual meeting with beer or a formal presentation with multimedia capabilities. The conference tables and benches within the building were provided by SolidCore, a company out of Portland, Oregon that fashions modern furniture out of naturally fallen trees.

The designers and architects agreed on a certain tactic within the high-volume, open space: to simulate the stimulation you'd the feel of navigating a city street.

"With a city street, you want different heights, different textures, different colors," explains Lee. "Some portions are finished on the inside, some are unfinished and informal gathering spots."

The designers and architects agreed on a certain tactic within the high-volume, open space: to simulate the feel of navigating a city street.

Pops of color are particularly provided by pieces of Armstrong's personal art collection and commemorative jerseys, medals and tributes to supporters — a standout piece being a sculptural installation by Futura featuring seven bikes fused together and each emblazoned with narrative iconography on the fork of each bike, representative Armstrong’s Tour wins and important corresponding moments in his life.

The LiveStrong headquarters is by no means an example of design in vain. Each design, décor and construction decision was made in an effort to facilitate a type of teamwork and community engagement inextricable from a nonprofit’s success. The distinct desire to protect and honor the environment is reflective of the business' mission to protect and honor the human life.

Armstrong himself worked side by side with Lee, Lake|Flato, The Bommarito Group and environmental graphic designers FD2S to ensure the foundation would be strengthened by the LiveStrong offices, in an atmosphere that would ultimately reinforce the acumen, collaborative nature and tenacity required to fight the courageous fight against cancer.

Gold, as it turns out, really is the Foundation's color.

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Recycle Materials, Not Ideas

Austin designers transform trash for spectacular fashion show

A Model preps for the 2023 Trash Makeover Challenge

Image courtesy of Zina Harding

In the Trash Makeover Challenge, at least 90 percent of the garment must be made from recycled material.

On Saturday, September 7, fashion and environmental advocacy will come together in a spectacular showing of flora and fauna at this year’s Trash Makeover Challenge.

The Trash Makeover Challenge, now in its 14th year, is a unique fashion show and live auction event supporting the Texas Campaign for the Environment (TCE). Amateur and professional designers alike will send garments down the runway, where at least 90 percent of their materials must be recycled. Past shows have featured designs made entirely from Coca-Cola bottle caps, 600 fish scales sewn into a skirt, and once, live ladybugs released onto a garment.

This year’s theme is Avant-Garden. The entire night will be a whimsical and playful twist on avant-garde art and fashion combined with the natural world. Attendees (who are also highly encouraged to dress up on theme) can expect to see designs by artists Megan Pinto, Melissa Prentice, Myrna Lewis, Halima Abdul-Jaleel, Robyn Scully, Cindy Rellin, Teresa Klein, and Greg Lara.

There will also be a live auction featuring some truly delightful prizes: SXSW Music Passes for next year, a Thai cooking class with dinner for six, weekend getaways, jewelry from local artists, massages, and much more. One big-ticket local item is 40 dinners for two at some of Austin’s best restaurants including Bar Peached, Eddie V’s, and Moonshine Patio & Grill.

The live auction portion of the event from 2023 The event includes a live auction, with items like SXSW passes, dinners for two, massages, and more. Photo courtesy of Zina Harding.

Throughout the evening, guests can sip on themed cocktails (like the Tito’s Bee’s Knees with honey syrup and fresh lemon juice) and enjoy a delicious dinner, as the designers' fantastical creations march down the runway.

Some of the designs this year include garments made from hundreds of Scantron tests and clothing made out moss and live flowers.

Designer and teacher Teresa Klein says, “I have taken the used tests and exam Scantrons from hundreds of students and transformed them into thousands of beads that make up the base of my dress. Notes, paper, an old textbook, and other school-related paper makes up the flowered bodice. If we count all the hours my students spent studying, this look took thousands of hours!"

Teresa Klein's Trash Makeover Challenge design includes hundreds of recycled tests and scantrons Designer and teacher Teresa Klein is showing a look made from hundreds of recycled scantrons and tests from her students.Photo courtesy of Teresa Klein

Klein has participated in this event three times now, and her team came in third last year. She says this year, working with paper feels more "freeing."

"In past years, I've worked with plastics," she says. "This feels less toxic, but at the same time it has caused me to look at the usage of paper at my place of work. I am seeing the colors of a classroom in a different light."

Another designer, Greg Lara, has also participated in the event several times. In fact, his team won the People's Choice Award in 2023 and 2022, and was the overall winner in 2015. Lara says that he "love[s] that every year is a different theme." This year, Lara's design will feature materials like recycled poultry fencing, moss, real flowers, and garden netting.

"I love this event," says Lara, an amateur designer, hairstylist, and salon owner. "I will always participate."

Guest judges for this year’s fashion show include BiNi Scoor, the CEO and Founder of 212 Catalysts; Ilonka Soto-Pelyvas, owner and director of Austin School of Fashion Design; Patty Hoffpauir, owner of The Garden Room; and Sugar Gay Isber, owner and founder of Gay Isber Designs. The evening’s emcee will be KXAN’s Jala Washington.

And you better believe these judges have a lot of responsibility this evening. At stake for the winning designers’ teams are a grand prize of $3,000; a second place prize of $1,000; and prizes from $350-500 for third place, a People’s Choice, and “Seedling Awards” for new college designers.

"[Last year] my model was a co-founder of the Gulf of Mexico Youth Climate Summit," Klein says. "We donated the winnings to that organization to help bring young people to their annual summit in the Coastal Bend."

The winning looks will be donated to TCE and reused for promotional purposes next year.

Trash Makeover Challenge winning design in 2023 The winning design in 2023, made by Megan Pinto.Photo courtesy of Megan Pinto

This fairytale-like event will take place at the Texas Disposal Systems Wildlife Ranch & Pavilion in South Austin. Tickets are $75 and include dinner, complimentary cocktails, the fashion show, and access to the live auction. Proceeds will go toward TCE’s work to protect public health and the environment in communities most affected by pollution from oil, gas, and petrochemical plants.

To learn more about the grassroots advocacy non-profit, Texas Campaign for the Environment, visit texasenvironment.org.

sustainability fashion