In the center of downtown Bastrop, Texas, sits a city block that is home to the Powell Cotton Seed Mill, silos, and other outbuildings, built in the early 1900‘s. Over the years these buildings were used for many things, most recently a junk yard/auto reclamation shop.  The mill is a pole barn structure, with wood posts sunk into the ground, dirt floors, and old growth pine used to frame the building all covered with a corrugated metal skin.

The local Bastrop Fine Arts Guild purchased the property with the intent of repurposing the site into the Lost Pines Art Center, a regional arts facility housing a gallery, offices, studios, a foundry, hot glass shop, ceramics, and gift shop.  Along with those uses, a large part of the grounds would be dedicated to green spaces to house gatherings and art shows. Due to the extreme deterioration of the Mill’s wooden structure, it will be disassembled with the material and corrugated metal skin reused into the new flagship gallery and offices.  The remaining existing buildings will be renovated.

Located on a lot so steep it was once deemed unbuildable, the design of this home takes full advantage of the prevailing breezes, spectacular views, and the owners’ desire to remain in the neighborhood they call home. The house hugs the rocky ridge and steep slope, providing a top floor to accommodate the owner’s plan to ‘age in place’, while the downstairs is a space for family visits. The best compliment to this home’s energy efficient design? In the teeth of the brutal 2011 summer, this house was the venue for a fundraiser that was cool and comfortable – and utility bills averaged $127/month.

Taking the time to integrate the client's lifestyle expectations, design tastes, and budget constraints was imperative for a great outcome.  Addressing the site, we pay homage to the views, solar orientation, prevailing breezes, geography and vegetation, as well as the context of the neighborhood. These are some of the elements that make your house feel at home in its setting.  

Ecologically minded clients also wanted to incorporate FUN into their home!  Not only did we pay special attention to the site and its micro-climate, but we introduced the clients to products that are healthier to live with, yet easy to obtain regionally.  We believe in using space wisely to create a true sense of “home” while incorporating an innovative flair.

Our clients were looking for a home to renovate in the Austin area when they found a simple brick one story 1970s home that had been neglected for many years. The front yard sloped down to the front of the home allowing water to gather and there had been an inexpensive addition done at the rear of the house. The floor plan was characterized by a series of rooms clustered together around a sunken living room with no connection to the outside. The front yard would be leveled to help channel water around the house.  Most of the exterior brick was replaced with Hardiplank siding and the remaining brick was painted to lighten the exterior.  Exterior windows and doors were replaced with Marvin Integrity brand windows. The rear addition was stripped off and replaced with a new screened porch, with a vaulted ceiling and fireplace, and a new deck. The sunken living room was filled and the many interior walls were removed, tremendously brightening up the interior.  A new kitchen was designed with much of it now opening up into the living room. New fixtures, finishes, mechanical systems and wood floors were added throughout the home. A basic builders box was given a new lease on life, bringing its image and function into the 21st century, providing our clients with an efficient, sustainable, and effective way to repurpose this average home into a high performance efficient living environment.

This holistic or “whole house” design approach was adopted from the inception of this project to ensure that this contemporary designed home would achieve the following  goals : beauty, comfort,  energy and resource efficiency, durability, lower maintenance, within an environmentally conscious,  healthy and safe environment.  

Located in Lakeway, this two story house owned by our clients needed some serious upgrading. After discussing the clients' ideas we were able to come up with not only a beautiful, but functional energy saving design. Some of the key unique features include a screened-in porch with a wood burning fireplace and a view, large overhangs that double as a cover for the porch and patio, swimming pool with a hot tub, and tall windows to bring in natural lighting.

This site specific home is laid out to efficiently work with the topography, orientation, views, and breezes of the Texas Hill-Country. Overhangs, awnings, and deep covered patios provide passive solutions to keeping direct sunlight from entering into the house while still allowing large window openings to connect to the outdoors.

This holistic or “whole house” design approach was adopted from the inception of this project to ensure that this well-designed home would achieve the following goals: beauty, comfort, energy and resource efficiency, durability, lower maintenance, within an environmentally conscious, healthy and safe environment.

What makes this home a unique is that it demonstrates a complete remodeling and updating on the interior from a home originally designed in 2000 with the “Craftsman” style in mind to the Modern style - while retaining many of the positive features of the original design by the owner/architect.

In the Steiner Ranch neighborhood of Northwest Austin our clients wanted to build a family home that would provide a comfortable backdrop for them to raise their two sons. They found the perfect property sitting at the edge of a ravine with great views that faced to the southeast. The set was staged for the new home to be with perfect orientation for the Central Texas climate.

Tucked into a neighborhood called Tarrytown you will find a unique house that we call the Urban Art Residence. One look inside and you will understand why the name fits so well.

A fresh Austin-unique design proposed as part of the City of Austin’s Mueller Redevelopment project. Despite the compact site criteria, this design maximizes its potential to respond to solar and climate considerations by locating a 1st floor Screened Porch on the prevailing breeze side of the home and developing a stair tower on the opposite side. This provides a passive thermal siphoning strategy for natural cooling and ventilation of the home. Sleeping areas are located upstairs with living spaces down to allow for energy efficient zoning of air conditioning systems. The backyard space was maximized by blurring the lines between inside/outside and yard/patio/porch with the location of the outdoor Screened Porch and Carport off that yard. Both serve as transitions/living/party areas that connect and extend the yard and house for multiple uses and private family parties. A generous Front Porch connects the home to the public street and sidewalk with views of Lake Park just yards away. This house has been rated for the coveted L.E.E.D. Platinum award by the United States Green Building Council. This is the highest green building award available in the United States. It was also featured on the Parade of Homes™ 2009.