The center's growth has been under consideration since it opened in 2007 and was furthered more recently through a resident feedback process and City Council's 2018 formal passage of a plan for phase two of its expansion. In recent months, a project team from Miró Rivera Architects and Tatiana Bilbao Estudio has been developing schematics for the new phase, which were unveiled this month to Austin's Design Commission and the advisory board of the cultural center.
During a Jan. 26 presentation to the MACC board, project designers detailed their vision to extend the semicircular cultural center with tens of thousands of square feet of classrooms for children and adults, new gallery and performance space, and other improvements. Landscaping, such as a snake-themed lookout point and a tree-lined outdoor sculpture garden along the lakefront hike and bike trail; are also under consideration.
“The plans and the drawings as they’re laid out increase the footprint and the ability of the MACC to really be able to serve the public in a very dynamic and hopefully adaptive way into the future," board Chair David Goujon said.
A main feature of the proposed facility update is the improvement and separation of the MACC's outdoor zocalo, or central courtyard made up of a paved plaza that extends onto the center's lawn next to the trail. Under the Miró Rivera-Bilbao expansion plan, the area would be broken apart between a more defined lawn area leading into updated gallery and theater space at a lower elevation and the renovated zocalo at the level of the rest of the MACC building.
Project team members said the split would allow for more control of the space as the surrounding Rainey Street Historic District continues its development boom. They said the plaza plan fits in with the rest of their design for the curved building extension and could have a capacity of thousands for MACC-hosted events.
“The building that the original architect designed had a very strong form, so we feel like we have an obligation to complete the vision. ... The building wanted to complete itself, so it’s very almost inevitable that we had to continue that shape," architect Juan Miró said. "The gain is that the zocalo is fully controllable and defined as a space."
The plan to split the lawn and zocalo was met with some reservations from residents and board members, including Goujon and Vice Chair Art Navarro. The area's landscaping, how bigger events might be staged there and the overall need to separate the plaza from the lakefront were all topics of discussion that partially led the board to hold off on approving the new expansion plans Jan. 26.
“There's a lot here that's great, that’s fantastic, magnificent, beautiful, all those words. But I don’t think outdoor events, in particular music events, have received sufficient design consideration because it doesn't show here in what I see," Navarro said.
The question of community input as the project continues was also raised during the schematic review, a topic that will likely be revisited when the board reviews the schematics again next month. Goujon also noted his concern with any extended delays to project planning, however, citing the Austin market's growth as a factor that could potentially drive up costs and reduce what can be accomplished in the next expansion phase if the board or project team waits too long to finalize a design.
