The city of Austin is building up, and its once-modest skyline is getting weird.
Due in 2026 is a mixed-use high-rise called Waterline, designed by the New York firm Kohn Pedersen Fox. At 1,022 feet, the building qualifies as a “supertall,” one of just a handful of these spectacular skyscrapers in the US outside Chicago or New York City. When it’s finished, the project will rank as the tallest building in Texas. Designed like a stack of several different buildings, Waterline will stand out on a skyline that’s growing up faster than almost any other nationwide.
But it won’t stand alone. Groundbreaking is due this year on an even-taller supertall, the Wilson Tower. Wrapped in a dusky golden brise-soleil running the length of the building, the Wilson Tower will rise to 1,035 feet, looming like a giant harmonica over the live music capital of the world and setting a record both for the state and for any US residential high-rise outside New York City.
