Inside the Studio | McKinney York Architects

Celebrating 40 Years of Design!

In celebration of our 40th anniversary, we take a closer look at each word of our mission statement that influences our approach to practice. We create spaces that belong to people through mindful placemaking, identity, and connection.

“As architects we are tasked with meeting the needs of our clients, but we also have a calling to respond to the wider community. We are continually in a posture of listening and learning to create a sense of belonging for those who experience our work, and have found that a project receives its vitality through the contributions of everyone involved – the clients, the users, the community, and members of the design team.”

– Brian Carlson, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Principal

The Montopolis Recreation and Community Center is the centerpiece of the community serving as a central gathering and activity space, and a gateway to the Montopolis neighborhood. Through its materiality and reserved integration into the site, the design reflects the relaxed, unpretentious attitude the neighborhood sought, while providing connectivity and identity through communal spaces such as the gym, multipurpose rooms, and boxing center.

upstairs lobby with view of railings in foreground, building's front windows to the left, and exercise room with boxing punching bags to the right

Montopolis Recreation and Community Center View Project

In celebration of our 40th anniversary, we take a closer look at each word of our mission statement that influences our approach to practice. We create places that inspire people to do and be better through optimistic, thoughtful architecture.

“Most of our lives are spent within and around a built environment that shapes our lives and colors our thoughts and feelings. It seems to me that architects have an obligation to elevate that experience. We endeavor to create architecture that lifts and transforms lives by inspiring big ideas and bold actions, or quiet contemplation and simple wonder.”

– Al York, FAIA, RID, Principal

The McGarrah Jessee, an iconic building in downtown Austin exemplifying mid-century architecture, is home to the award-winning advertising and brand development agency. The renovation breathes new life to the building while delicately balancing historic preservation with a level of creative innovation that pairs with its occupant.

image of McGarrah Jessee building looking into red tunnel entrance opening to stairs and escalators towards geometric mural on back wall

McGarrah Jessee Building View Project

In celebration of our 40th anniversary, we take a closer look at each word of our mission statement that influences our approach to practice. We create places that engage people by inviting thought, stirring emotions, and awakening senses.

“One of our responsibilities as designers of the built environment is to engage our clients and the people that may experience our work. At the most ambitious level, we do that by developing concepts in each of our projects. Through careful planning, we hope our design decisions feel as though they are self-evident, ultimately creating opportunities for that engagement to occur.”

– Will Wood, AIA, RID, Principal

The Rox, Duke, and Danay Covert Admissions Welcome Center is the “front door” for prospective students at the University of Texas at Austin, designed to entertain, educate, and engage visitors while sharing the energy, sprit, and possibilities of the university.

Admissions Welcome Center View Project

Over the last four decades, we’ve had the opportunity to collaborate on hundreds of projects, each rooted in our desire to connect people to each other and the world round them by creating architecture that engages, inspires, and belongs.

headshot of Heather McKinney

“We believe our work is better when all voices are heard, and we are deeply committed to improving the built environment through inclusive and sustainable design. As we look ahead to the next decades and our continued growth in central Texas, we remain committed to our mission to create architecture that resonates across the full breadth of people’s humanity – their minds, their hearts, and their senses.”

– Heather McKinney, FAIA, RID, Founder

residence exterior at dusk with lighted interior looking through glass windows into foyer with winding stair

Winter Park Residence View Project

You can explore the studio to gain insight into our design philosophy and approach, or see our ideas come to life by viewing our work.

McKinney York Architects

We believe that the best architecture engages people across the full breadth of their humanity – their minds, their hearts, and their senses.

By inviting a cool breeze, a warm memory, or a curious thought, our architecture strives to create a conversation. More than a passing ‘hello, how ya’ doing’ it asks you to ‘sit down and stay a while’. Maybe the conversation starts off about the weather, but for those who have the time and inclination, the chat can grow deeper and more intriguing. By embedding our architecture with strong concepts, we aim to provoke engaging exchanges about ideas, to touch people’s spirit, and heighten people’s perception of themselves and the world around them.

Churchill once said, “We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us.” He could not have been more on point, so we endeavor to create architecture that lifts the spirit and transforms lives by inspiring people to become their better selves. We work to make places that encourage people to think more deeply, act more boldly and work more effectively; places that motivate people to connect with compassion; and places that invite quiet contemplation or evoke the joy of simple wonder.

The desire to belong is a fundamental human need and buildings structure our relationships to each other, the communities in which we live, and to the natural world around us. They can pull us apart or draw us together. Like us, everything we build is connected to something larger. When mindfully orchestrated, architecture can foster a sense of belonging and draw people together – whether as a family, a neighborhood, a workplace, a campus, a city, or a community of ideas.

Engage We create places that engage people by inviting thought, stirring emotions, and awakening senses.
Inspire We create optimistic architecture that inspires people to do and be better.
Belong We create places where people can belong.

Project Details

In an area of the city rich with history, Austin’s Montopolis neighborhood is taking a step into the future – while nodding to the past – with the new Montopolis Recreation Center. Completed in August 2020, the facility is the centerpiece of the community, serving as a central gathering and activity space and a gateway to the Montopolis neighborhood.

Our design team worked in concert with the City of Austin Public Works Department, the Parks and Recreation Department, and the Health and Human Services Department. This facility includes individual and group training areas, a gymnasium for basketball and volleyball, an elevated jogging track, group exercise rooms, and, most notably, an exercise room with a boxing ring – a sport of great importance to the Montopolis neighborhood for decades.

The site plan makes great effort to preserve the existing trees with particular emphasis on the protected trees and heritage trees surrounding the new building. To achieve this, the building is set back farther from the street than would be typical, staying out of the trees’ critical root zones. An added benefit is the creation of a shaded public plaza which will provide a venue for community events.

The scale of the new building has been designed to complement and not overwhelm its neighborhood context. The community was surveyed early in the design process to identify the characteristics they would like to see the facility embody. Through its materiality and reserved integration into the site, the design displays the relaxed, unpretentious attitude the community sought, while special elements like the gym, multipurpose rooms, and the boxing center display a more adventurous and energetic form.

Recognition