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Future of Design: Austin 2026
Keeping Austin's Soul as it Grows: Celebrating Local with Global Sophistication
We celebrated our third anniversary by gathering some of the most influential voices in the industry for an engaging panel discussion. The discussion centered around how we keep the heart of Austin alive while we transform into a World Class Design Destination.
Hear our panelists' perspectives and see videos and pictures from the event below!
This Year's Panelists:
Videos From the Event
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Tell us about your history with Austin
Oren: I had been to Austin a couple of times as a kid, but when I moved here in 2014, I honestly thought I was going to find myself in one of those old westerns. What I found instead was a vibrant community, lush in both culture and greenery! I have taken to both and, as an architect, tried to design and advocate for ways that create harmony between both.
Lindsey D: My answer to this is very uninspiring, but I basically came here for sun and economic opportunity, like so many, and have since come to love it and call it home.
Lindsey H. I moved to Austin from Kentucky after elementary school in 1991, just on the heels of the movie Slacker. Rollerblading, beach volleyball at Pease, Fiesta and Pecan Street fest were all big parts of my teenage years. I loved the city and the oddities like Spamorama… and Leslie Cochran. I chose to stick around and attend UT as an art student.
How is Austin different from other cities you’ve lived in? What’s good, what’s bad?
Lindsey D: Preservation is really shaped by a city’s economics. I’m from and worked for years in Saint Louis, which has gorgeous architecture and extreme disinvestment, and studied preservation in New Orleans in 2009-2010 when the city was suffering fallout from Hurricane Katrina. In those cities you’re fighting vacancy and depopulation as a preservationist. Here in Austin, the economy is thriving and it’s the economic and population pressures bearing down on historic places that make our work challenging.
Lindsey H. We lived in Dallas for three years while my husband was at SMU Law. I had a lot of time on my hands… so I did a lot of shopping. Dallas’s favorite hobby. Granted I think Dallas has gotten better in the last 20 years, in the early oughts all there was to do was shop and go to the gym. The fancy jeans and high heels were mandatory. I missed my flip flops and my Levi’s. Dallas wasn’t as green, but it did have amazing museums. The Nasher was one of my fave places to visit. There is so much historic wealth in Dallas— Residential neighborhoods roll with estate after estate. We lived in a little bungalow just off the M streets. It was mixy and walkable. It was a fun diversion but we missed the green of Austin. And we missed our family.
What is the Soul of Austin?
Oren: Even though the people that were here before me will say it’s not the same, to me, the soul of Austin is still the people who live here. Yes, that is changing, and yes we need to protect what made the new people want to come here in the first place, but we also have to incorporate what they have to offer into our identity.
Lindsey D: Through the lens of my work: Collaborative, exuberant, unabashed, unpretentious, creative. Our preservation community and historic places, including so many legacy businesses, are just fundamentally cool. People want to be here and they want to be part of the project of shaping Austin’s future. I think Austin is an incredibly dynamic and exciting place to be.
Lindsey H. Austin’s soul is truly relaxed and fun loving. Austin loves funk and oddity. Austin is a character. A welcoming friend.
What does it mean to preserve a city’s soul? Are there cities that do it well?
Oren: New Orleans comes to mind. I spent almost a decade living there and it doesn’t seem to matter how much time passes, it still feels the same. I think they do it by inviting the newcomers, saying “hey, y’all! Come see how and why we do things here and let’s make your ideas a part of that” instead of saying “No, we don’t want to do anything different”.
Lindsey H. I feel like places that move at a languid pace do it well. Don’t change too much too fast. Embrace and consider what is there. And, if you’re going to change it, somehow give a nod to what was. Hm. I feel like Cincinnati and New Orleans have done it well. The age and the patina and the interesting interweavings remain as things are repurposed and updated. Not too much newness. Not too much slick and sleek. Maybe not the best for function but it seems to preserve the soul.
Our topic is “Keeping Austin’s Soul as it Grows; Celebrating Local with Global Sophistication”. What does Global Sophistication mean to you, and how do we attract that while continuing to celebrate local?
Lindsey D: Great world cities preserve their heritage.
Lindsey H. LH Austin has become more layered in our ethnic and cultural outfits. Authentic food from people who deeply know the tradition. Stores from all over the world. Funny enough if you go to the Domain, you could be anywhere in the world. It’s cool! But does it feel like Austin or a global grown up Austin? I’m not sure it does. It’s too slick, not enough character.
I feel like architectural imports have not been as successful here. Tech companies and developers put more focus on housing their business than creating a design icon that reads “Austin Original”. So we get big glass buildings and black and white houses… when we should be getting chiseled limestone and hand hewn iron works hardware with a zip of an Evan Voyles neon sign.
Smaller businesses seem to get it right here—- the Music Lane Development and Magdalena Hotel feel global and authentically Austin at once. The materials are earthy the design is complex. MML is doing good things with old spaces. Bringing world class cuisine but keeping the Austin vibe true. Hand painted. Collected. Artful and catchy. See: Jeffreys and Ski Shores.
Are there infrastructure changes that are needed to help us meet this goal (Keeping Austin’s soul, local celebration + global sophistication)?
Oren: Plenty! Austin wasn’t designed for the influx of both permanent residents and visitors, meaning we need to find ways that we can house and move all these people, without tearing the whole thing down and starting over. Better mass transit is part of it, but making sure people have easy and close access to what they need and want is the key to making it work.
Lindsey H: We really need to decide how midtown develops over the course of the next decade. We’ve got downtown and the Domain emerging as big employment centers. How do we connect them better and preserve green and housing… how can mid-town not be a bunch of three story half full apartment buildings with empty vacuous retail…
I35 will be an interesting exploration over the next decade too. What will it do to the Blackland neighborhood? And French Place? Can these little spots with aging residents and aging structures survive as communities?
And… how will Austin neighborhoods look without as many public schools? Can’t even start to talk about that.
How are you, in your position or sphere of influence, working to help keep the soul of Austin?
Oren: I advocate heavily to make sure architects and developers have the tools available to create middle density projects. The truth is, not all sites are good for it, but they are the ones who are best placed to tell us that. If we trust that they will use good professional judgment, we can trust that they will understand what makes a site or neighborhood special and design in a way that protects that.
Lindsey D: Preservation Austin’s mission is all about keeping the soul of Austin. It’s less “historic places are cool too” and more “we lose these places, we get to that tipping point where Austin legitimately isn’t the same city anymore.”
Lindsey H: Do good, one house at a time!
I hope that my senses help to guide residents to good architecture and interiors. I didn’t really touch on neighborhood character yet but we know they all have it! Let’s pay attention and develop the voice of Austin through our creative moves.
I also like to frequent restaurants and shops that are local. Keep the little old stores open. I support local conservancies and I post about it… support the ones with vision and drive for our city.
I’ve got some ideas for a non profit in the hopper… maybe one of them will help address this..
What can individual professionals do to work towards this goal?
Oren: When you are analyzing a site for a project, don’t just stick to the inside of the property boundaries. Actually go and visit the site and walk or drive around the area with the windows down. See and hear what’s around you the way your client probably did. Push your clients to consider design options that are not just good for them but can help integrate them to their community.
Lindsey D: Design for Austin and not for Dwell – resist Instagram trends and the movement towards a national monoculture to keep your work and life rooted here at home.
We launched Legacy Business Month in 2023 and that has really inspired me to work even hard to make decisions about where to spend my money, spend my time in a way that reflects my values. As an Austinite, and as someone whose career is dedicated to preserving Ausitn’s culture and history. It takes discipline, and I’m always trying to get better at it!
Lindsey H: Go with your gut. Be an artist. Be an Austin Original. Look and listen and defend good design. Choose elements and forms that meld to the landscape and show off the character of your client.
Maybe we all need to get into commercial design too…
Attend preservation Austin tours!
Read about Austin history.
Go rollerblading?
How can we encourage the general public to support this vision?
Oren: There are community groups out there that are very good at painting the worst case scenario as the outcome. We must encourage the public to consider the value of the most likely outcome instead. Not everyone is going to want or have the money to knock down their home and build three in its place. That’s fine! But if someone wants to, they can absolutely do it without changing the nature of a community.
Lindsey D: Shop local, eat local, celebrate local. Become a Preservation Austin member to support our work advocating for Austin’s historic places.
Lindsey H: Tours are great. Preservation Austin and Austin Home and Tribeza are doing a great job of providing fun insight into our quirky cousin of a town.
I think development needs to be less about office space and focus more on lifestyle. How can architecture and infrastructure encourage connected neighborhoods and community events? Conservancy groups with forward thinking, grounded goals can help with this! The Pease Park and Waller Creek Conservancy projects are great examples. They took aging crumbling community gathering places and brought them back to life for today’s living. I hope for more of that. Thoughtful public architecture will influence people’s sense over time. It's much easier to convince them with something they can see and feel and enjoy. Most people can’t understand architecture until they experience it.
