Vaulted House is a Central Austin house with a compact footprint and simple form. The house is banked along the side of its small lot, opting out of a typical front yard/backyard relationship in favor of an expansive side yard. Site walls provide a sense of enclosure and definition to outdoor living areas and invite indoor functions and living spaces to spill outdoors. These strategies provide a feeling of openness and connection to outdoor living areas from the kitchen, screened porch, and living room. Furthermore, the placement of the garage, bathrooms, utility room, and stair along the lot line enhances the relationship between the living spaces and the side yard, promoting a cohesive flow between both realms. Strategically placed windows and doors provide ample daylight, views, and cross-ventilation on the first floor. The upper level is a vaulted volume that is deconstructed through the use of thinly sliced vertical windows and concise, focused dormers that expand outwards towards a controlled view. A skylight also carves through the upper volume to create a hidden light well at the inner spine of the house. These vaulted ceilings, tall dormers, and skylights create unique spaces infused with natural light.

Karuna Passive House designed by Holst Architecture and built by Hammer & Hand. This high performance home meets the world's most demanding green building certifications. Photo by Jeremy Bittermann.

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cantilevered volumes protect roots of sensitive vegetation, anybody see the blue tape? Pete Neff
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This forest-themed bunk room features an ebony stain bunkbed with trundle. Modern elements like the Lighting First ceiling fan and the pewtergray bedspreads add a sophistication to this whimsical woodland space. A series of thin wood slices are applied like tile to the headboard wall, and a watercolor mountain range mural on the adjacent wall solidifies the rustic nature of this room.

Perched on a hillside cul-de-sac lot in Brentwood CA, the Gagne Residence enjoys an unusually private street condition and views toward the ocean, city, and surrounding tree lined hills. To maximize dwelling and garden area on the mostly sloped site, the house is broken into two general volumes, one volume responding to the level and orientation of the street, the other, wrapping and descending along the hill’s contour, acting as retainer while providing a third dwelling level and preserving ample area for a garden. Photo credit: Eric Staudenmaier

This home evokes a sensuous St. Barth lifestyle on Lake Michigan, designed for globetrotting clients who wanted a weekend sanctuary near their primary residence in Chicago. The project brief included open plan living for entertaining, a family lounge, and bedroom suites for houseguests. The first level is a glass rectangular volume that makes the second level appear to float over the dune and offers water views through the structure. Clad in Accoya, the upper level will gray with age and blend into the landscape. These two horizontal volumes are connected by a double-height glass entry space that reveals a floating staircase. A contemporary beach aesthetic unifies the interior through an edited palette of materials, including white oak millwork, large-format porcelain tile, and a range of warm whites. Interior tile extends out to the pool terrace, uniting the spaces and amplifying the connection to the outdoors. The landscape design enhances the experience. A courtyard with sculptural Ginkgo trees offers refuge from lake breezes. On the pool terrace, custom Cor-Ten planters overflow with Russian Sage, selected for graceful foliage that sways in the breeze and offers a relaxing herbal aroma.

Renovation of the existing master bath to enhance the quality of the space and the luxurious bathing experience. Removed an existing claustrophobic shower enclosure and incorporated the tub into a luxuriously large shower/wet area. Rather than bathing in a shower or tub cubicle, this combining of spaces into one larger space allows the homeowner to experience the entire room as part of the bathing or shower ritual. photo: Volume Zero LLC

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When a world class sailing champion approached us to design a Newport home for his family, with lodging for his sailing crew, we set out to create a clean, light-filled modern home that would integrate with the natural surroundings of the waterfront property, and respect the character of the historic district. Our approach was to make the marine landscape an integral feature throughout the home. One hundred eighty degree views of the ocean from the top floors are the result of the pinwheel massing. The home is designed as an extension of the curvilinear approach to the property through the woods and reflects the gentle undulating waterline of the adjacent saltwater marsh. Floodplain regulations dictated that the primary occupied spaces be located significantly above grade; accordingly, we designed the first and second floors on a stone “plinth” above a walk-out basement with ample storage for sailing equipment. The curved stone base slopes to grade and houses the shallow entry stair, while the same stone clads the interior’s vertical core to the roof, along which the wood, glass and stainless steel stair ascends to the upper level. One critical programmatic requirement was enough sleeping space for the sailing crew, and informal party spaces for the end of race-day gatherings. The private master suite is situated on one side of the public central volume, giving the homeowners views of approaching visitors. A “bedroom bar,” designed to accommodate a full house of guests, emerges from the other side of the central volume, and serves as a backdrop for the infinity pool and the cove beyond. Also essential to the design process was ecological sensitivity and stewardship. The wetlands of the adjacent saltwater marsh were designed to be restored; an extensive geo-thermal heating and cooling system was implemented; low carbon footprint materials and permeable surfaces were used where possible. Native and non-invasive plant species were utilized in the landscape. The abundance of windows and glass railings maximize views of the landscape, and, in deference to the adjacent bird sanctuary, bird-friendly glazing was used throughout. Photo: Michael Moran/OTTO Photography

Perched on a hillside cul-de-sac lot in Brentwood CA, the Gagne Residence enjoys an unusually private street condition and views toward the ocean, city, and surrounding tree lined hills. To maximize dwelling and garden area on the mostly sloped site, the house is broken into two general volumes, one volume responding to the level and orientation of the street, the other, wrapping and descending along the hill’s contour, acting as retainer while providing a third dwelling level and preserving ample area for a garden. Photo credit: Eric Staudenmaier

Volumes have triple-glazed window walls and utilize the beveled detail of their tubular geometry to create an overhang, which minimizes solar gain in the summer and maximize solar gain in the winter. The angle of the bevel is calibrated to mediate solar gain on all full-glass facades and creates a minimal edge detail. Oriented toward the woods, each volume is further defined by its sharp end articulation and the material differentiation of its exterior cladding.

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