Waterline: KPF completes the tallest tower in Texas

Austin has a new highest point. Waterline, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) for Lincoln Property Company and Kairoi Residential, is complete: construction wrapped up in July 2026, two months ahead of a 50-month schedule. At 1,025 feet (about 312 metres) and 74 storeys, it is the city's first supertall and the tallest building in Texas, edging past Houston's JPMorgan Chase Tower by 23 feet.

Waterline tower by KPF rising above downtown Austin — *Waterline in Austin, Texas. © Jason O'Rear, courtesy of KPF*

Three buildings in one

The tower holds more than 2.7 million square feet. Offices, Austin's first 1 Hotel with 252 rooms, and 352 residences are stacked in a single shaft, a mix that KPF itself calls unusual for the United States. To manage the change of use, the tower is split in two: a bifurcated volume that lets floor plates, cores and outdoor spaces shift as offices give way to hotel rooms and homes.

Terraces act as new ground planes at each transition, and the crown is given over to amenities, with water features and co-working space.

Rendering of Waterline showing the split between the lower and upper volumes and the open crown — *The bifurcated tower and its open crown. Render courtesy of KPF*

A striped façade that leans back

The elevations read as horizontal bands, interrupted by vertical elements. The result is a stacked, striated profile that steps back from the water as it rises, so the tower seems to lean away from Waller Creek and Lady Bird Lake. At the base, deep balconies are broken into partitions, giving the lower levels a finer grain than the shaft above.

Curved podium of Waterline with white horizontal bands and copper-coloured vertical fins — *The curved podium: white horizontal bands and partitioned balconies. © Jason O'Rear, courtesy of KPF*

KPF has not yet published the specification of the curtain wall. One envelope detail is documented: inside the podium lobby, a two-hour fire-rated glass wall by SAFTI FIRST encloses four elevators across three levels. It measures 56 by 28 feet, turns two corners and is butt-glazed in low-iron glass with ¼-inch joints and no vertical mullions. Win-Con Enterprises installed it.

Back to the creek

The curved podium follows the western bend of Waller Creek and holds the hotel and parking. At street level, a multi-level public route called the Paseo links the tower to the Waterloo Greenway, the Rainey Street District and the city's first light rail line.

Aerial view of Waterline's curved podium following Waller Creek and the Waterloo Greenway paths — *The podium traces the bend of Waller Creek. © Jason O'Rear, courtesy of KPF*

Rendering of Waterline's podium and tower seen from a footbridge over Waller Creek — *The podium and its planted terraces from the creek. Render courtesy of KPF*

"We wanted the tallest tower in Texas to be an urban activator." – James von Klemperer, KPF

The project is pursuing LEED Gold and WELL v2 certification.

Hotel pool terrace at Waterline with the office levels of the tower behind — *A terrace as a new ground plane: the hotel pool deck. © Jason O'Rear, courtesy of KPF*

Why it matters for the envelope

Mixed-use supertalls put the façade under unusual pressure: one skin has to serve offices, hotel rooms and homes, each with its own needs for daylight, ventilation and privacy. Waterline answers with geometry rather than a change of material, splitting the mass and using balconies and terraces to mark each shift. We will follow up as KPF and the delivery team release the technical details of the curtain wall.

Credits

Design architect: KPF (James von Klemperer, Forth Bagley, Andrew Klare, Franz Prinsloo, Hide Furuta)
Architect of record: HKS
General contractor: DPR Construction
Structural engineer: Brockette Davis Drake
MEP engineer: Alvine
Civil engineer: WGI
Landscape: TBG Partners | Nudge Design
Fire-rated glass: SAFTI FIRST; glazing contractor: Win-Con Enterprises
Clients: Lincoln Property Company and Kairoi Residential
Photos: © Jason O'Rear, courtesy of KPF
Renders: courtesy of KPF

Sources: KPF; DPR Construction; SAFTI FIRST; Multihousing News.

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