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.

This home demonstrates that the present-popular Modern style can respond well to our harsh summers in Central Texas.  It displays attributes not often associated with homes of the Modern movement – soft balanced natural day-lighting, remarkable comfort via passive solar control measures, energy efficiency without reliance on expensive and maintenance-intensive Green “gizmos”, and lower exterior maintenance – all by architectural design. The client desired the nexus of environmental stewardship with “high performance” comfort & health attributes.  Total reliance on rain-water collection, harmonious response to the site’s micro-climate, excellent Indoor Air Quality without the reliance on a separate mechanical system, enhanced natural ventilation strategies, and a lovely bug-free semi-outdoor “living room” that comfortably connects one to the outdoors are a few examples of the architect’s approach to Green By Design that results in a home that exceeds the expectations of its owners – yet still treads lightly on its natural surroundings.

Perhaps the greatest achievement that this project represents is convincing a family that had become accustomed to living in 5000-plus square feet in the far out Austin suburbs to be comfortable in a home significantly less than half that size, on a piece of property one tenth the size, in a location close to downtown and the amenities they would frequent.  These homeowners “bought into” the idea of reducing their carbon footprint by retiring into a high performance home that would demonstrate energy efficiencies and contain healthy indoor air quality; attributes that would allow them to “live well” in a soft, contemporary style.  The project programming and interior layout of this home were developed with “green” living in mind from the get-go.  Spaces are multi-functional.  It was programmed and designed so that it functions also as a pleasant patio, outdoor cooking area and pet washing station.  The screened-in porch is situated to take in the prevailing breezes, serve as a true extension of the open floor plan living area, and as a breeze collector working in sync with the “thermal siphon” stair tower, with it’s shaded clerestory windows on the NW side of the home.  To minimize the home’s impervious cover footprint and its roof area, all bedrooms are upstairs, contrary to conventional real estate development thinking.  This allowed for vertical zoning of separate air-conditioning systems which minimizes conditioning unoccupied areas during times of the day when those rooms are not in use.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.