Texas French Bread Patio

 

Austin, TX 2015

 
 
 
 
 
 

Texas French Bread sits on the boundary between a historic neighborhood and a dense urban area close to The University of Texas. The objective was to take their garden and underutilized picnic area and transform it into a neighborhood asset and an outdoor destination spot for its city-wide customers.

 
 
 
 
 
 

The existing property consisted of 3 distinct areas: the restaurant building, the mostly unimproved garden, and the parking lot which is a barrier between them (and that was not to be affected). The vision for the project was a cross between a neighborhood pocket park and an outdoor dining terrace. The design includes a lush environment with outdoor seating for 40-50 people, strong lateral axis to link to the main entrance of the restaurant, and an entrance from the adjoining sidewalk.

 
 
 
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A 44”-diameter live oak tree sits on the lot line between the dining terrace and a new single-family residence. Because of the potential for high-volume foot traffic on site, the design gave up a large usable area under the tree canopy by creating a “no-go” zone within the critical root zone of the tree. The site includes 2 underground arrays of manifolds for irrigating and fertilizing the tree. Materials and plants were chosen for their durability and low impact on water usage.

 
 
 
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Project Credits

Design Team:
Charles Di Piazza, AIA, Chris Cobb

Landscape Architect:
Ten Eyck Landscape Architecture

Builder:
22 Construction LLC

Engineering:
Leap! Structures

Photographer:
Andrea Calo, Mia Baxter

Size:
5,000 sf

Date Completed:
2015

Recognition:
AIA Austin Design Award 2018
Featured in Texas Architect, March / April 2016