In this residential project, the existing house is a small 1970s-era “French style” structure that sits on a hilltop site with an awesome tree canopy. Located in West Lake Hills, Texas, West Lake Hills Residence is designed by Specht Architects. The goal is to preserve all of the site’s live oaks and also creating a larger and more transparent house.
Goal
The main goal of this project is to preserve all of the site’s live oaks and at the same time also creating a larger and more transparent house. This house allows the beautiful landscape around the house to flow through all the interior living spaces.
Design
The strategy is to lift the house’s primary mass off the plane of the ground and to design a series of masonry support walls between the trees surrounding it. These house walls extend across the site to create exterior and interior rooms, defining the house family spaces on the lower level and supporting the “floating box” of private spaces and enclosed bedroom above.
Materials
At the lower level, the muted palette of materials allows the stunning views toward the landscape to predominate. The individuality of each family member at the upper level is expressed with personally-chosen colors and materials. These materials and colors can create a bright and comfortable atmosphere inside the house.
West Lake Hills Residence Gallery
Photography: Casey Dunn and Taggart Sorensen