The University of Texas at Austin, Belo Center for New Media

Austin, Texas

Firm

Lawrence Group

Client

The University of Texas at Austin

Area

112,000 sq.ft.

Total Cost

$40,000,000

Completion Date

06/2012

At the northeast edge of campus, the five-story, 112,000-square-foot Belo Center for New Media serves as a state-of-the-art interactive learning environment and a new gateway to The University of Texas at Austin campus. The building includes the School of Journalism and Department of Advertising and Public Relations; classrooms for the College of Communication; performance, production, music and talk studios for NPR affiliate KUT; as well as public spaces and a full-height atrium. A planned pedestrian bridge eventually will link to the existing College of Communication building across East Dean Keeton Street.

The project was designed to comply with the university master plan guidelines while expressing the dynamic and changing nature of broadcast journalism. The plaza in front of the building is landscaped with indigenous plantings collected from the central Texas region. It enhances the gateway entry and links the building visually and functionally with the existing building across the street. The project received LEED gold certification; sustainable elements include vertical shading fins, native landscaping, a bio-filtration water feature and bioswale.