Autry C. Stephens Engineering Discovery Building (ACS)

Building Highlights

ACS is part of an $820 million investment in the engineering campus over the past decade that includes three new buildings, supported by $215 million in private philanthropy from longhorn alumni and friends.

Designed for collaboration, the building provides the modern environment needed to support expanding academic programs, innovative research and the evolving demands of engineering education at one of the world’s leading public research universities.

Signature Spaces

Signature features include flipped classrooms that support both lecture-based and hands-on instruction, fluid laboratory spaces designed to connect and expand between research groups to encourage collaboration, and modern offices and lounges overlooking the Austin skyline.

Gallery Credit: CO Architects

Art + Engineering

The redesigned Mulva Courtyard includes a sweeping front lawn of native plants, a nature path, a rooftop garden terrace and outdoor spaces thoughtfully interwoven into the building’s design. The centerpiece is a public art installation by Maya Lin, opening in Spring 2027.

At night, Floating Landscape glows with embedded LED lights that correspond to the constellations in the Texas sky on September 15, 1883—the date of UT Austin’s founding.

This project was graciously supported by Peyton Yates (B.S. and M.S. petroleum engineering 1965 and 1966).

Building Information