The House on Turtle Creek is a thorough renovation and addition to 1970s house originally designed by noted Dallas architect Bud Oglesby. The project became a kind of collaboration with Bud via the bones that he left for the house. Both ends of the structure, which were severely deteriorated, were removed; the house now opens up to extraordinary views of Turtle Creek and the Dallas Country Club. The delineation of zones for “servant” and “served” spaces, which paid homage to Louis Kahn in the original house, is now clarified and fortified. Luscious materials–sand blasted, cut Leuders limestone; Almondria wood; steel sash windows; a literally “hung” glass curtain wall; stainless steel fabric; scagliola– are employed throughout the new design.  Both inside and outside rich, tactile surfaces are made even more vivid by a variety of natural light sources.

Poor soil conditions on a spectacular site required a heroic foundation with few drilled piers and deep foundation beams.  This, combined with the steep slope, gorgeous views, and abundant existing trees, dictated a long, thin rectangular footprint and a simple concrete volume to span between the piers.  All of the major rooms, which look out to the trees or above them to downtown Austin, are housed in this primary volume.  Looser, shaped wooden volumes are arranged around the concrete structure, housing the kitchen, entry, carport and porches.  The home’s materials–plywood-formed concrete, bleached and weathered wood, and the curving, standing-seam roof–fade into the natural woods from the street.  Inside, exposed concrete complements the clients’ antique furniture and rugs as well as their distinguished collection of modern art.  A series of seven Jasper Johns collages are dramatically hung on the curved wall of the entry, allowing them a special dialogue with each other.

The House on Sunny Slope is designed for informal family living, commissioned by a single father with two young sons.  The primary yard is placed in the front, surrounded by a wall, to maximize private outdoor space on a small lot.  The carport doubles as an outdoor game room/entertainment space, strongly oriented to the yard.  Inside, a dominant room with 18-inch exposed stone walls houses living, dining, kitchen, entry functions in a large open space with a loft study above.  The bedroom wing, sheathed in European cement board with horizontal redwood battens, is perpendicular.  Two massive concrete columns anchor the interior’s important corners.  Architectural details, including hand rails, roof ties and brackets, are made of lightweight steel.

The Wimberley Ranch House is positioned atop a bluff above the Blanco River on a large cattle and horse ranch. In the tradition of Texas ranch buildings, the design is an aggregation of individual elements that are freely adapted to their function and location. Independent forms are loosely collected around an existing, bowl-shaped draw, which directs views up and down the river and to the hills beyond. The home’s interiors revel in the different moods of the site and the ranch, ranging from open and airy in the expansive, central kitchen, to low and focused in the living room, to cozy and intimate in the barrel-vaulted private suites. The suites and living room open onto stone terraces, oriented to welcome southeast breezes from the river at night.

The Lake Travis House is perched on a 100-foot bluff with extraordinary views to the southwest, west and north. The home’s west side takes the form of a sweeping arc, acknowledging the panorama; wall shapes and windows are oriented to match specific vistas. The home’s design responds to specific functional preferences for the family of four. On the lower floor, playroom, living room, dining room and kitchen are one continuous space, subdivided by level changes that control internal views. The kitchen is at the center of the house, blessed with the best views. Bedrooms and bathrooms are grouped upstairs around laundry and storage; the cycle of cleaning people and clothes is sensibly and unconventionally orchestrated. Primary materials–limestone, stucco, concrete, steel and copper–share a common color spectrum that knits them together. Detached piers, horizontal redwood trellises, deep roof awnings and automatic rolling shutters provide thorough sun control year-round.

The Burnet Ranch House rests on the dominant ridge of a small cattle and goat ranch in Central Texas. The clients, a family of four who live on the ranch full-time, required typical house functions as well a special acknowledgment of their rural lifestyle. Consistent with regional traditions, the home is broken into five small building elements, aggregated in response to site and function. These elements work with existing trees to define an auto approach on one side and a protected inner court on the other. Building materials–native limestone, cedar siding and metal roofs outside, with stone, plaster and clay tile inside–are common locally. Deep porches, cross ventilation, careful orientation to prevailing breezes and full utilization of outdoor spaces help keep the house temperate without mechanical means for most of the year.