Parmer Ponds The Pitch / Mark Odom Studio

Architects: Mark Odom Studio
Area: 21,780 m²
Year: 2022
Photography: Casey Dunn
Lead Architect: Mark Odom
Design Team: Mark Odom Studio
Collaborators: STG Design
Interior Design: Mark Odom Studio
Landscape Architect: TBG Partners
Builder: Austin Commercial, Citadel Development Services
MEP Engineer: Bay & Associates, Inc.
Structural Engineer: Leap Structures
Civil Engineer: LandDev Consulting
Category: Hospitality Architecture, Community Center
Container Consultant: Falcon Structures
Developer: Karlin Real Estate
Fabricator: Makehaus Design and Fabrication Studio
Food Service: Corner Kick Hospitality
General Management: Team Orbis
Branding: Lauren Dickens Studios
Visualization: MAQE Rendering
City: Austin, Texas
Country: United States

The Pitch hospitality complex, designed by Mark Odom Studio in Austin, Texas, introduces a modular approach to community spaces, utilizing 23 repurposed shipping containers and completed in 2022. Developed for Karlin Real Estate, the project comprises five two-story pods that house food vendors, office spaces, and social areas. Unified materials and detailing reinforce formal consistency. Vertical container towers provide utilities and visual landmarks, while a mass timber pavilion and strategic landscaping integrate the site with its surroundings and the nearby Austin FC practice facility.

Materiality shaped The Pitch by being able to insert shipping containers into the landscape rather than on top of the landscape. Allowing the landscape to berm around the containers essentially created an experiential threshold into the center of the project that was unique, depending on which side one entered.
Interview with Mark Odom of Mark Odom Studio

Parmer ponds the pitch / mark odom studio

The Pitch, designed by Mark Odom Studio, reimagines a half-acre site in Austin, Texas, as a modular hospitality venue centered on Austin FC’s community presence. Using repurposed shipping containers, the project accommodates food service, office use, and event gatherings in a flexible, layered format. The design clusters 23 containers into five distinct pods, each responding to programmatic needs while maintaining a consistent architectural language. Developed by Karlin Real Estate, the complex functions as a social anchor between the urban landscape and the adjacent soccer facilities.

Each container used in the project conforms to one of two standard modular sizes, eight by twenty feet or eight by forty feet. These units are stacked to create two levels and grouped to form five separate buildings, each with different square footage and interior use. Despite functional variation, all pods share identical materials, detailing, and color palettes, emphasizing the raw form of the containers and reinforcing visual coherence.

On the ground floor, containers host local food and beverage vendors. The upper levels accommodate a mix of functions, including private offices, event rooms, viewing platforms, and climate-controlled lounges designed for Austin FC game days and community events. Custom staircases, vertical steel railings, and overhead trellises link the two levels and enhance the circulation across the site.

Three containers were oriented vertically to stand as 40-foot visual markers that double as restroom facilities and utility rooms. Internally, each provides a dramatic vertical view terminating in a skylight. Positioned at strategic points across the site, these towers serve both functional and wayfinding roles. A central mass timber pavilion fitted with steel apertures creates a focal point within the site and establishes a physical connection between the hospitality zone and the adjacent practice stadium.

The site’s original flat topography was modified through strategic landscaping by TBG Partners to better integrate the modular buildings into the terrain. Grading adjustments allow each pod to relate to the ground plane differently, which promotes movement throughout the site and generates layered visual experiences.

To meet the design intent under a compressed timeline, Mark Odom Studio worked in close collaboration with Leap Structures, LandDev Consulting, Bay & Associates, Inc., and builders Citadel Development Services and Austin Commercial. The containers were supplied and modified in coordination with Falcon Structures, while custom fabrication was handled by Makehaus Design and Fabrication Studio. Renderings were provided by MAQE Visualization, and interior design and furniture installation were also managed by the architecture team.

Reflecting on the process, Mark Odom described it as highly integrated: “We approached this project as a collaborative team effort and the complexity required all disciplines to problem solve together from feasibility schematics through construction. The timeline was fast, and the team was pushing from start to finish; The entire team was crucial in making the deadline.”

The Pitch demonstrates how adaptive reuse and modular planning can serve contemporary hospitality needs. With consistent detailing, clear program zoning, and a strong relationship to its context, the project defines a new architectural typology for community-driven entertainment infrastructure.