Top Architecture Firms in Austin

Austin’s architectural momentum isn’t just about taller towers—it’s about designing for heat, water, equity, and tech without losing the Hill Country soul. The metro adds ~170 people a day and continues to recruit semiconductor fabs, EV manufacturers, and cloud giants, even as the city fights to “Keep Austin Weird” with music venues, food trucks, and bungalow neighborhoods. That growth forces architects to do more than compose façades. Triple-digit days now cover a sizable slice of the year, so passive cooling, high-albedo roofs, deep overhangs, and operable shading are design basics, not boutique moves. The Edwards Aquifer and Barton Springs protections—and stricter post-storm floodplain maps—make water stewardship non-negotiable: plinths, bioswales, detention, purple-pipe reuse, and sub-metering often determine whether a project wins approvals. Affordability policy adds another layer; “missing-middle” density, compatibility transitions, and heritage-tree preservation can reshape massing as much as floor-area targets. Meanwhile, Project Connect’s light-rail plan and I-35 “Cap & Stitch” will redirect demand toward transit corridors and cap parks, favoring mixed-use envelopes that stitch neighborhoods back together. And Austin’s clients are tech-forward: they expect digital twins, embodied-carbon dashboards, and plug-and-play infrastructure for future battery storage—right alongside warm, material-honest interiors.

Use this quick checklist before you shortlist a firm:

Scope & delivery: ground-up vs. TI, and whether you want design-bid-build, design-build, or IPD.
Performance targets: AEGB star level, LEED/WELL ambitions, EUI/water budgets, and heat-island mitigation.
Climate resilience: flood-elevation strategy, shaded outdoor rooms, reflective hardscape, backup power readiness.
Entitlements: compatibility step-backs, heritage-tree strategy, neighborhood engagement, and watershed approvals.
Envelope strategy: shading coefficients, glazing ratios, WUFI or similar hygrothermal analysis for durability.
Supply-chain plan: how they hedge 30- to 40-week MEP gear lead times and sequence long-lead façade systems.
Community benefits: M/WBE participation, local-hire commitments, and public-realm programming.
Evidence, not promises: change-order ratio (<5% is strong), TRIR/EMR safety metrics, and post-occupancy data.
Lifecycle cost: commissioning/M&V, maintenance access, and how design choices cut OPEX over 5–10 years.

The six studios below excel at weaving all of that—heat and water science, code and culture, technology and craft—into buildings that look right in Austin and work hard in Austin. They pair Hill Country materials with global best practices, deliver entitlement wins without design compromise, and treat sustainability as a creative driver rather than a checkbox. Read on to see how their distinct strengths can safeguard your budget, accelerate approvals, and elevate the city’s evolving skyline.

Construction

Updated on September 26, 2025

Published on March 17, 2025

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Architecture Firms in Austin

Discover the top architecture firms in Austin known for their innovative designs, sustainable practices, and commitment to excellence. Whether you're looking for top architectures in Austin for residential, commercial, or public projects, these Austin architecture firms are transforming the city's skyline with creativity and expertise.

Lake|Flato Architects

512.373.3715
1224 East 12th Street, Suite 430, Austin, TX 78702‍

Lake|Flato pairs climate-forward design with craft, evidenced locally by the LEED Platinum Austin Central Library—co-designed with Shepley Bulfinch—where a six-story atrium brings daylight to 80% of regularly occupied spaces and rainwater strategies cut potable demand. Hospitality work like Hotel Magdalena on South Congress shows the studio’s sensitivity to landscape, threading buildings around heritage live oaks and using mass timber to reduce embodied carbon. The firm’s Austin presence and award record make it a strong fit for clients seeking high-performance design rooted in Hill Country conditions.

Sustainable Residential and Commercial Design
Adaptive Reuse and Historic Preservation
LEED-Certified Green Building Projects
Educational and Institutional Architecture
Urban Planning and Landscape Integration

Page

+1 512-472-6721
200 W 6th St Suite 1800, Austin, TX 78701, United States

Page (Page Southerland Page) is a multidisciplinary practice with deep Austin roots and a full stack of services across architecture, interiors, planning, and engineering. The team helped plan the UT Austin Medical District and designed the Health Learning Building, reflecting Page’s strength in complex, technology-rich environments and long-horizon campus work. Healthcare, higher-ed, and civic clients lean on the firm’s integrated delivery to manage cost, compliance, and performance targets.

Healthcare and Educational Architecture
Corporate and Commercial Design
Sustainable and Energy-Efficient Building Solutions
Interior Design and Workplace Planning
Government and Civic Architecture

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Murray Legge Architecture

(512) 596-29331701 Emilie Lane Unit B, Austin, TX 78731

An award-winning Austin studio led by FAIA architect Murray Legge, the firm is known for site-specific work that balances restraint and invention. Recent recognition includes multiple AIA Austin Design Awards, while educational projects like the Griffin School showcase thoughtful campus making within tight urban constraints. The practice’s consistent national and local accolades signal rigorous design standards and reliable execution.

Residential and Commercial Architecture
Public and Civic Spaces
Sustainable and Modern Design Solutions
Custom Interior and Exterior Detailing
Adaptive Reuse and Restoration Projects

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Studio8 Architects

(512) 473.8989
1608 W 5th Street, Suite 100, Austin, TX 7870

Studio8 delivers complex adaptive-reuse and institutional projects with a strong sustainability track record. The firm served as Architect of Record for the 140,000-sf Austin Community College Rio Grande Campus renovation—delivered with Overland Partners—that achieved LEED Platinum and Austin Energy Green Building 4-Star, alongside city and national awards. Studio8’s work demonstrates careful stewardship of historic fabric while upgrading building systems for modern learning and wellness.

Commercial and Mixed-Use Development
Educational and Institutional Architecture
Sustainable Building Practices
Corporate Interiors and Workplace Design
Urban Planning and Community Engagement

Alterstudio Architecture

1-512-499-8007
1801 Lavaca Street Suite #106Austin, Texas 78701

Alterstudio is a design-driven Austin practice recognized for refined residential and small-scale institutional work that often garners national awards. The South 5th Residence earned distinctions including the AIA Housing Award and AIA Austin Design Award, emblematic of the firm’s meticulous detailing and environmental responsiveness; the studio continues to be honored in AIA Austin’s annual program. With principals active in UT’s School of Architecture, the firm blends teaching, research, and practice.

Luxury Residential and Custom Home Design
Commercial and Office Space Architecture
Interior Design and Space Planning
Sustainable and LEED-Certified Projects
Architectural Research and Material Innovation

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Michael Hsu Office of Architecture

512.706.4303
826 Houston St, Suite 100, Austin, TX 78756

Michael Hsu OA is known for neighborhood-oriented architecture and adaptive reuse that shapes Austin’s hospitality and mixed-use scene. Landmark projects range from South Congress Hotel (design architect; multiple design honors) to Uchi and Uchiko’s influential restaurant spaces and the downtown Fareground food hall and plaza. The studio’s breadth across interiors and buildings helps brands create cohesive experiences from street to seat.

Residential and Multi-Family Housing Design
Retail, Hospitality, and Restaurant Architecture
Corporate and Office Spaces
Custom Interior Detailing
Community and Cultural Projects

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Best Architecture Firms in Austin

Austin’s pipeline exceeds 25 million square feet through 2027, with nearly half of projects targeting AEGB, LEED, or WELL. At the same time, updated storm-water rules and evolving compatibility standards demand early coordination among architects, civil engineers, and community groups. Material costs have steadied in some trades, but long-lead MEP equipment still stretches past 30 weeks, and specialty façade components can extend critical paths if not locked early. In this environment, design intelligence shows up as schedule certainty: firms that pre-qualify suppliers, pre-sequence mockups, and align drawings with contractor means and methods consistently deliver faster and with fewer surprises.

Treat interviews like an audit. Ask each team to show three energy models compared to code (baseline vs. proposed vs. value-engineered), plus a water budget with reuse assumptions. Request a sample entitlement calendar that includes neighborhood outreach, watershed review, and heritage-tree mitigation milestones. Press for a supply-chain playbook: which packages go out at SD, DD, and 50% CD; which alternates protect pricing; how they’ll handle 30-week switchgear without slipping your TCO. Then tour a finished project at 2 p.m. in August—do shaded terraces read 10–15°F cooler than adjacent sidewalks, and do lobbies stay comfortable without over-cooling?

The ROI on getting this right is measurable. Buildings that beat code EUI by 20–30 percent typically see lower operating costs and stronger lender terms; AEGB- or WELL-certified assets in Austin have historically leased faster and retained tenants longer than non-rated peers. Resilience detailing—elevated equipment yards, redundant drainage, reflective roofs—reduces insurance friction and protects NOI during extreme-heat or flood events. Thoughtful ground floors and community programs can also unlock incentive points or accelerate approvals, shaving weeks off holding costs.

Bottom line: pick an Austin architecture partner who can translate ambition into approvals, drawings into reliable bids, and sustainability into comfort you can feel at noon in July. The firms highlighted here have shown they can do exactly that—marrying Hill Country warmth with data-driven performance and construction pragmatism. Choose well, and you won’t just get striking renderings; you’ll get a building that opens on time, operates efficiently, and feels unmistakably Austin for decades to come.