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Architects: Alter Studio
- Year: 2009
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Photographs: Paul Bardagjy Photography, Jonathan Jackson Photography
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Manufacturers: Conran shop, Droog
Text description provided by the architects. When the clients for the Bouldin House, a young couple in the music industry, approached Alter Studio they didn’t have an image in mind, or a site, but knew that they wanted a very special home that would embrace the many different things that they liked. The design presents an aesthetic that engages serendipity in many guises, where board-formed concrete, rough recycled wood flooring, and vertical cedar siding is posed against abstract detailing allowing sunlight and shadow from every direction.
The house takes advantage of Austin’s 25’ front yard setback requirement by capturing a private walled courtyard on the busy street to the south, and instead turns to face the side street to the east. Situated between this courtyard and a protected live oak tree, the Bouldin House is a compact, 2-story building that expands both north and south into the lot. Carefully orchestrated windows, skylights and a glass floor further open the house to the sky and sun, and provide a continued sense of openness to this 2300 sq ft home. Rooms are designed to provide both intimacy and expansiveness. A cozy 9’ x 9’ media room sits at the center of the house downstairs, while the upstairs office/studio stretches the full 43’ length of the house and is open on both ends to continue the sense of breadth and engage views of downtown. Butt-glazed corners and windows that rise beyond interior ceilings add a sense of surprise and ambiguity to the whole.
Oriented for optimal cross ventilation, the Bouldin House also is outfitted for a rainwater collection system, solar photovoltaic array, solar pool heating tubes, reflective TPO roofing, cellular foam insulation, tankless water heaters, etc. Their desire for a sustainable lifestyle is also reflecting in their decision to live centrally and work from home, all within a modest sized footprint.
