+ Project Details

"As primary stewards of the Colorado River in Central Texas, we recognize the importance of environmental awareness and the conservation of natural resources. Red Bud Center represents an ideal opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to those principles in a way that will inform the broader community."

-Christopher Kennedy
LCRA Acting Chief Administrative Officer

About
Redbud Emergency Operations Center
Lower Colorado River Authority
Austin, TX
35,000 sf

The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) is a nonprofit conservation and reclamation district created in 1934 by the Texas Legislature with a mission to protect the people, property, and the environment in an area that supports more than one million people in Central and Southeast Texas. Its services include electricity, water, flood management and community and economic development for rural and suburban communities along the lower Colorado River.

BGKA led a series of charrettes and workshops to develop an enhanced vision for the facility, which was originally intended to house only offices. The shared vision that emerged enhanced the project well beyond what the LCRA had expected. The new vision encompassed a project that pushed past its site borders in many ways, telling the LCRA story, teaching the benefits of conservation, working with adjacent neighborhoods, and becoming a community destination.

Red Bud Center showcases LCRA’s environmental leadership and commitment to sustainable practices, earning LEED Gold Certification form the USGBC. It features an interpretive park that educates visitors about the history of the LCRA and Colorado Rover while allowing the building to demonstrate water conservation through methods and technologies. The building has helped LCRA increase its water savings by 83 percent (the equivalent of 110,500 gallons of water per year) and reduce energy consumption by 31.7 percent.

Recognition
Four-Star Sustainability Rating, Austin Energy Green Building Program
LEED® Gold Certification, United States Green Building Council
Award of Excellence, American Society of Landscape Architects
Texas Rain Catcher Award, Texas Water Development Board

Sustainability
The LEED Gold Certified Redbud Emergency Operations Center demonstrates water conservation by increasing water savings by 83% (110,500 gallons) per year. To accomplish this, four cisterns, totaling 31,100 gallons of rainwater capacity, is used for sewage conveyance, for make-up water for the interpretive water feature, and for irrigation. Redbud Center is oriented east-to-west so that the walls are optimally positioned to minimize direct sun in the summer and maximize sunlight in the winter. The south wall features a green screen and 10’ overhang to protect from heat and glare. To maximize natural light within the Center, the standard office layout is inverted by placing the enclosed offices at the core of the building and the cubicle space along the periphery.