Austin City Hall

Last week Monday, my program took a field trip to Austin's state of the art city hall situated downtown at the corner of 2nd and La Vaca along Lady Bird Johnson Lake. Likened architecturally to an armadillo, the angular, eco-friendly structure embodies the highest values of the city it serves.

Two of the driving themes of the building are transparency and public engagement. Specific features include glass conference rooms, a protest window along one side of the city council chamber, and public art prominently on display (some of which is rather odd). The public votes for its favorite pieces and the city purchases the most popular each year.