The city of Taylor, a quintessential small Texas town, is one of the many neighborhoods surrounding Austin that is experiencing substantial growth generated by the Tech-Industry’s move to Texas. As the first housing development in Taylor, Castlewood Mixed-Use sets the stage for future large-scale developments in the community. The project sought to establish an active urban street edge in what is currently large expanses of farmland. To achieve this, it was critical that the building be sited along the street edge and break down to a pedestrian scale. The project hosts large ground floor patios that open directly to the sidewalk, acting like a series of front porches along Wesley Miller Lane and echoes the single-family homes across the street.

As a nod to the Dog Trot houses historically found in Texas, Castlewood Mixed-Use incorporates four unique levels of covered breezeways centrally located in the building. Each dog trot level is uniquely programmed to offer a variety of outdoor amenities and a reprieve from the Texas heat.  The orientation of the Dog Trots are situated to take advantage of the natural wind paths in Taylor.