Fontaine Plaza, Austin

Fontaine Plaza occupies the former entrance drive of Highland Mall, which closed in 2015, in north Austin. The site is now part of the Highland campus of Austin Community College, within a scheme converting the mall into an education district, led by developer RedLeaf Properties with the college. The masterplan was prepared by McCann Adams Studio.

The plaza, designed by landscape practice dwg., is named after Reverend Jacob Fontaine, a freedman, church founder and educator in Austin. The design foregrounds the site's history as a place of gathering and learning, and favours reclaimed materials and low-impact construction.

Kebony Character is used for the benches set across the plaza and for the surrounds at the base of the heritage live oaks retained around the site. Contractor: Strata Landscape. Fabrication: Ion Art.