by Jorjanna Price
All Photos credited to ABIA

When the City of Austin embarked on an expansion of its airport IT building, adding room to keep up with technology demands wasn’t the only goal. Officials wanted to create a facility that had state-of-the art features not only for the high-tech staff but also for the birds.

Housed on the grounds of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, the AUS IT building was expanded in 2021—adding 30,000 square feet for a total of 40,500 square feet—to keep up with activity at one of the fastest growing airports in the U.S. The two-story IT building serves as the hub for critical communications functions.

With a nod to the bird population, building designers incorporated these elements:

Window barriers. The first feature visitors notice is an array of colorful blue and yellow “fins,” or sun shades, placed on all exterior walls. These tall vertical panels on the second floor deter birds from flying into glass windows and walls. On the first floor, the glass see-through exteriors are marked throughout with small gray dots placed 2 inches apart, which is the spacing deemed most effective for avian eyesight.

Landscaping. Shrubs and plants were located several feet away from the first floor, which is mostly glass, so birds won’t fly too close to the building.

Lighting. The building parking lot has commercial light poles that are “shielded,” or covered overhead, so the light is directed down. This design keeps light pollution from interfering with birds that migrate at night and use stars for navigation.

Many steps can be taken to save birds from crashing into buildings. Collisions occur when windows reflect blue sky or trees, much like a mirror, leaving birds unable to detect the facade. Fatalities occur when buildings fail to exhibit patterns or etchings on reflective windows that birds can see.

Avoiding collisions is especially important in Austin because this region is on the Central Flyway, the path for as many as 2 million birds a night passing through during migration season.

With its multiple features for energy efficiency, the AUS IT Building achieved LEED v4 BD+C Silver Certification in March 2024. As part of this certification, the project was awarded LEED Pilot Credit 55, Bird Collision Deterrence.