SXSW HQ
SXSW reveals plans for groundbreaking headquarters in downtown Austin
SXSW is getting a new home. The team behind Austin's famous conference and festival has revealed plans to move into an innovative office space at 1400 Lavaca St. SXSW will be the anchor tenant for the 12-story building, which is scheduled to break ground in summer 2017. Other creative agencies are expected to fill out the remaining space.
"SXSW has been on multiple campuses for some time, so for us this space will be about consolidation and communication — allowing us to bring all of our departments under one roof again," Roland Swenson, CEO of SXSW, said in a release. "Ultimately, we imagine a building that houses other creative companies and fosters collaboration between artists, media-centric companies, and innovators."
The building's look is crafted by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners; this is the firm's first project in Austin. The acclaimed New York-based firm is maximizing every facet of the tree-filled lot near the northwest corner of the capitol.
"The design for the building has been conceived in a unique serpentine form that frames a panoramic view of the Capitol dome from the office floors above while embracing and preserving the live oaks at the ground plane, shaping a welcoming public space that forms the main entry to the building at the corner of Lavaca and 14th Street," said Yvonne Szeto, partner at Pei Cobb Freed & Partners.
The building is owned by CZ Properties and is being developed by Greenbelt Commercial. Local landscape architecture firm dwg and architecture firm Gensler, who is in charge of the top three floors where the SXSW offices will be located, are also on board.
"Designing for a group of innovative people such as SXSW requires us to create more effective space, supporting innovation as both a business process and as a human activity," said Gensler design director Armando Iarussi. "We are creating 'managed serendipity' — leveraging the productive collision of people and ideas through the right spaces and the right tools."
The building is slated to open late 2019.