The Lake Travis Hillside Residence is a luxurious home situated in a setting on a steep hill overlooking the whole of Lake Travis, outside Austin, Texas.

Its covered deck with a dynamic cantilevered roof, designed to be reminiscent of a ship’s prow, seizes the outstanding lake views and takes full advantage of the wonderful cooling breezes emanating from the water below. A third story study and library makes for a setting most would want to spend all of their waking hours in. Another unique feature is a basement that consists of an 800 square foot woodworkers shop – with wonderful lake views, of course.

While the Lake Travis Hillside Residence exudes luxury, it is also conserving energy. Passive solar design features includes windows carefully matched with roof overhangs to provide summer shading, a special ventilated radiant barrier roof system, and a “thermal siphoning” tower set up within the home to enhance natural ventilation when the windows are open. This last feature works in conjunction with a whole house venting fan. The home’s sophisticated air-conditioning and heating system consists of four ground source heat pumps that utilize wells drilled deep into the surrounding grounds for extremely energy efficient heating and cooling.