Waterline Austin
5,500 custom signs. Four distinct environments. One 74-story landmark. At 1,025 feet and more than 2.7 million square feet, Waterline is the tallest building in Texas, bringing hospitality, Class AA office, luxury residential, and shared public spaces together within one extraordinary vertical environment. Building Image Group was entrusted with the complete signage and wayfinding program, creating approximately 5,500 custom signs across the podium and common areas, 1 Hotel Austin, the office tower, and Bosque Residences at Waterline. BIG designed it all, from concept through fabrication and phased installation.
The Challenge
Four environments. Thousands of signs. One building.
Waterline needed to move hotel guests, residents, office tenants, visitors, and service teams intuitively through 74 stories while giving each destination its own identity.
And there was another directive: make it feel natural.
The signage couldn't feel manufactured or applied to the architecture. Materials needed to be organic, tactile, and intentionally imperfect, creating a system that felt as though it belonged to Waterline from the beginning.
Our BIG Solution
BIG developed the comprehensive signage and wayfinding system from the ground up, using rough-cut limestone, hot-rolled steel, Corten steel, and live-edge white oak to establish a material language that connects the property while allowing each environment to feel distinctly its own.
The 12,000-Pound Limestone Monument: A massive piece of limestone was hand-chiseled to create the main entry monument. Its natural edge, texture, and scale turn a functional sign into an architectural landmark.
252 Hotel Room Signs: Every guestroom sign at 1 Hotel Austin features a naturally formed live-edge white oak backplate. No two pieces are identical. BIG transformed that natural variation into the design, creating 252 individual signs within one cohesive system.
Wayfinding Across 74 Stories: BIG developed the hierarchy that connects the shared podium with separate hotel, residential, office, and common-area destinations, creating clarity across an exceptionally complex vertical environment.
5,500 Custom Signs: From major identification and directional elements to room identification and regulatory signage, the program was designed specifically for Waterline.
Fabrication & Install
Natural materials at architectural scale: Designing with limestone, live-edge wood, Corten steel, and hot-rolled steel meant embracing natural variation while maintaining the precision required of an architectural signage system.
5,500 signs, one design vision: BIG managed thousands of individual elements across four distinct environments while protecting design continuity from the first concept through final installation.
Multi-year coordination: Working alongside Kairoi Residential, Lincoln Property Group, and Starwood Hotels, BIG coordinated design, fabrication, construction conditions, approvals, and phased installation across one of Austin's most complex developments.
Design through execution: The same team responsible for the design intent carried that vision through development, fabrication, and installation.
