Words by Christopher Ferguson, RA | Photos by Casey Dunn

Next Door Creative Studios

Pollen Architecture delivers much-needed creative space to central East Austin, leveraging artful interiors and considerate outdoor courtyards as gifts to tenants and neighbors alike.

“We wanted to bring the things that we knew worked well for artist studios: north light, open space, and a compact core,” explains Elizabeth Alford, principal of Pollen Architecture.

Standing below a sprawling heritage oak tree in a courtyard defined by lush rain gardens and quiet, discrete buildings, she continues, “But the landscape is one of the real pleasures of the project. A lot of people come to eat lunch here, since there are food trucks nearby.”

After establishing Pollen in 2003, Elizabeth and her partner, Michael Young, renovated a small concrete block building at the corner of 12th and Navasota streets to serve as their studio and workspace. Having spent over fifteen years in New York, the renovation came after the couple realized creative loft space, ubiquitous in other cities, barely existed in Austin.

Green Please
Ten Eyck Landscape Architects provided the critical landscape elements that help define the campus.

Over the next several decades, Elizabeth and Michael would gradually acquire the rest of the lots on the block, while demand for such space only increased. By early 2020, Next Door Creative Studios opened its doors, integrating a bevy of artists and creative design professionals within the dynamic, culturally-rich Eastside neighborhood.

The campus consists of four individual structures containing leasable units that vary in scale from 250 to 2,000 square feet, all featuring private, vestibule entrances and an abundance of light and views. Delightful details abound inside and out, reminders that care was taken with each decision made.
Sensitive to the adjacent neighborhood, the scale of the buildings is restrained, offering a generous, landscaped pedestrian boundary along bustling 12th Street, which also affords a layer of privacy for the tenants inside. Access to the outdoor spaces is maintained from the street’s edge, a porosity that invites curious visitors inside. Far from a corporate fortress, the indoor and outdoor spaces feel transparent, airy, and intimately connected to its spot in the neighborhood.

With appreciative neighbors and a tenant list comprised of designers, architects, artists, and makers, Elizabeth and Michael’s long vision has yielded a creative space in harmony with its neighbors, attuned to the needs of the creatives shaping the future
of Austin.

Walk-Ins Welcome
Make ATX offers classes, equipment rentals, and a gift shop for fabrication hobbyists looking for community and professional tools.