ATX Tower
Team
Architect
Handel Architects and Page
Contractor
Ryan Companies
Stats
PROJECT TYPE
Mixed-Use
COMPLETION
Est. 2025
PROJECT SIZE
825,000 ft²
MKA ROLE
Structural Engineer
Austin, TX
ATX Tower
This 55-story tower features a vertical stack combination of residential apartments, offices, and above- and below-grade parking with amenities and rooftop space. Standing 671 ft tall, the tower incorporates an innovative, first-of-its-kind Performance-Based Wind Design methodology, resulting in safe and reliable estimates of the building’s response to wind demands and reducing the total structural cost by 5%. 
A Revolution in Wind Design
Innovation was top of mind when Tishman Speyer and Ryan Companies tasked MKA with designing a mixed-use high-rise with a vertically stacked program of residential, amenity, office, parking, and ground-floor retail. This was accomplished at a quick design pace with an elegant design, efficient structural scheme, and zero transfer beams.
However, most innovative was its revolutionary approach to wind design, which not only saved the project millions of dollars in construction costs but also improved the floor plan layout, shortened construction duration, and significantly reduced embodied carbon.
The structure is the world’s first to utilize the new Performance-Based Wind Design (PBWD) procedure, a design approach pioneered by MKA over the past decade through funded research at universities nationwide, leading professional committees, and testing of designs via numerous case studies.
Using highly advanced analysis and simulated windstorms, PBWD enables the design to harness reserve structural material strength and ductility inherent to most structural systems without requiring any unique detailing or construction practices. The result is a creative, cost-effective, and efficient design.
