Austin AIA Homes Tour 2007 – Summary

Date Sunday, October 7th, 2007 at 7:05 pm Posts By Ryan Brown

I hope some of you were able to take part in the Austin AIA Homes Tour this weekend. Overall it was a good mix of homes – different sizes, styles, and neighborhoods. I thought Saturday was great as there wasn’t much of a crowd (probably due to the football game, sorry Longhorns). I thought I’d post quickly about a few of my favorite homes:

1200 Barton Creek – Tim Cuppett Architects
1200 Barton Springs, Designed by Tim Cuppett I had very high expectations for this home, as the Watersmark neighborhood provides a great setting and surrounding for impressive architecture. It did not disappoint. Although the home appears very modern, it is nestled in the native trees and plants and fits very well with the surrounding.

The home has large windows in every room, including a large sliding door to the patio, but yet is very private. The spaces are well organized, and the construction appeared flawless. They used a lot of simple materials (metal, wood, concrete) and achieved a very modern and clean look. Be sure to check out details on the architects website: Tim Cuppett Architects – House in Trees

909 Post Oak – Urban Jobe Architect
Urban Jobe - 909 Post Oak This home had a lot of nice features, but my two favorites were the courtyard and the materials. The front door of the home opens into a nice living-dining-kitchen area. This is separated from the bedrooms by a courtyard and a hallway/stairway. This courtyard is sheilded on all four sides by the home and provides a great outdoor living space.

On the materials – I really like the use of wood and steel on the exterior and interior of the home. On the inside the steel closet-doors and accent pieces looked striking against the mesquite flooring. For more details checkout the architect: Urban Jobe – South Austin Retreat and the builder’s: Pilgrim Building Company – Post Oak Retreat websites.

5431 Tortuga – Dick Clark Architecture
5431 Tortuga - Dick Clark Architecture This is a great design by Dick Clark Architecture, which many of you may remember was for sale several months ago. The home is very open and bright, and has great views to the surrounding greenbelt. Building on this lot was probably not easy, but the architect really made the most of the terrain by setting the home into the hill.

The interior is very clean and simple, with lots of nice materials (bamboo, marble). Also, many of the exterior materials (brazillian hardwood, CMU block, metal) are carried in to the interior of the home. The plans even include a roof deck, however this wasn’t part of the tour (understandably so). For more photos & details checkout Dick Clark Architecture.

For those who weren’t able to make the Austin AIA Tour – I apologize for not being able to take photos. This is something that is highly discouraged (and often monitored). However, the websites of the 11 featured architects should have details and photos for each of the homes. See my earlier AIA Tour post for those links.

For those who did, what was your favorite home or design detail? Share it in the comments.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, October 7th, 2007 at 7:05 pm and is filed under Architecture, Austin, Inspired Homes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Filed under Architecture, Austin, Inspired Homes

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2 Responses to “Austin AIA Homes Tour 2007 – Summary”

  1. Matt Risinger Says:
    October 8th, 2007 at 5:42 pm

    What a great tour!
    Tim Cuppett’s house was built by J Pinnelli Company and they executed flawlessly! Did you get a chance to slide open that Fleetwood sliding glass door? Slid like butter… Pinnelli’s team nailed the incredibly detailed floating stair/metal railing going upstairs. I also liked the simple metal (commertial styled) trim around the doors and base. Did you catch the pivoting front door?
    Urban Jobe’s house on Post Oak was the same flawless builder execution! Also phenominal architecture and fun/creative spaces. I love seeing smaller (under 2000 sq ft) houses that are built like furniture. So many home tours show off huge houses that need square footage to impress. That was built by my friends at Pilgram Building Company which has to be one of the best builders in the country. I loved the staircase and the incredible sunken master shower. Mark Word’s landscape was killer as usual.
    I also really liked Hugh Randolph’s house too, it really made me feel like I was stepping back in time. Very rich materials and surpises around each corner.
    What a great tour, something to always look forward to…

  2. Ryan Brown Says:
    October 8th, 2007 at 9:26 pm

    Great points Matt!

    I loved the sliding doors – my wife and I call these multi-panel doors ‘uber-sliders’, as they are one of the best ways to merge indoor and outdoor living spaces (but they aren’t cheap!). The metal trim was subtle, but the clean lines were a perfect fit for the home.

    Regarding Post Oak – I always try to talk with Branson on home tours. His company (Pilgrim Building) does meticulous work, and he can explain every aspect of the design and underlying materials/technology off the top of his head. It’s always a learning experience.

    The Greenlee (Hugh Randolph) home was very impressive, and the construction quality was second to none. I loved the guest apartment and the round media room.

    It’s interesting what design/construction features different people notice. I often end up going on the tour with an architect or builder friend. They seem to pay close attention to how different materials meet – trim around doors, roof eaves, stone-wood-metal transitions. You can usually tell a great deal about the quality of construction from these details.

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