Bridges On The Park

Bridges on the Park is considered one of the best offerings in the condominium, mixed-used market that came out of Austin’s multi-family boom in the early to mid-2000s. A mid-rise building situated between the urban corridor of South Lamar and the more idyllic park setting of Auditorium Shores, Bridges sought to cater to both urban and pastoral sensibilities of its tenants. Zoned within a waterfront overlay district with a maximum height of 60 feet, Bridges utilized a then-nascent structural system comprised of prefabricated loadbearing steel studs and long-span composite metal deck which reduced the floor-ceiling structural depth to 6 inches thus allowing the developer five stories of residential over podium retail while giving the units themselves tall internal living spaces. The unit layouts floor create loft-like living spaces in both one- and two-bedroom suites. With a blend of hard and soft landscape elements, three-part plaster, ipe wood siding, random-sized metal shingle panels, Bridges bears a hand-crafted yet gracefully modern quality. This tactile aesthetic is perhaps best celebrated in the distinctive dry-stacked limestone wall which surrounds the ground level retail and garage portions of the building. (Rommel Sulit, Project Lead Designer and Manager, Rhode Partners)