Q2 Stadium

The stadium embraces the city’s ethos and represents its cultural heritage with a focus on a sustainable indoor/outdoor experience. To be distinctly “Austin,” the Q2 Stadium team put sustainability at the forefront, recognizing that reducing ecological impact is a critical goal of the city’s collective spirit. Q2 Stadium is the first MLS stadium to use Whole Building Life Cycle Analysis to environmentally optimize the structure and enclosure to significantly reduce embodied carbon.

The seating bowl is shaded by the second largest roof canopy ever built on an MLS stadium. Our enclosure specialists provided consulting services to the architect on a variety of systems including glazing, metal and timber-composite rain-screens, as well as traditional masonry and cement plaster systems. The canopy enclosure features a combination of customized curved metal panel systems on the bullnose, soffit and edges; and single-ply roofing on the top side of the canopy over the stage and low roof canopies. At the high canopy an Epic deck systems constructed in a shingling pattern was utilized as rain screen to reduce the cost of the single ply roofing and tonnage of the steel canopy.

To allow grass to grow in time for Austin FC’s inaugural season in spring of 2021, the roof had to be completed by August of 2020, leaving only 22 months for design and construction of the structure. To meet the short schedule, the team engaged our construction engineering specialists early in the design phase to provide connection engineering and develop an LOD 400 fabrication model. As early as at 50% construction documentation, our team had already finished portions of the building’s LOD 400 model for the steel fabricator. Our integrated approach shaved three months off the schedule as compared to traditional project delivery.

Through creative and sustainably focused engineering, our team successfully delivered a signature landmark stadium, executing both the architect and the city’s vision, whilst fully embodying the cultural spirit of Austin. From the verdant outdoor greenspaces to the sweeping, cable-supported roof, the cheer’s coming from Q2 Stadium are the heartbeat of Austin’s community.