The American architecture studio of Matt Fajkus has created this striking boathouse pavilion, placed elegantly on the shores of a Texas ravine. Named Filtered Frame Dock, the project sits on a larger private estate, the main residence of which is also being designed by the same firm, and was created to offer a gateway between the blue waters and the home on site.
Its faceted composition not only feels sharp and modern, but was also created to reflect the context's wider conditions, allowing water and land, nature and architecture to connect meaningfully.
The structure ‘negotiates between the realms of land, water, and sky by framing one’s experience and understanding of the natural environment, above, along, and in the water,' explain the team at Matt Fajkus Architecture. The landscape was a key source of inspiration for the architects, as vistas, light and materiality helped drive the design solution.
The boathouse's open air nature allows the eye to travel and provides opportunities to view the natural landscape. It encourages movement, and also offers moments to sit and relax – on the decked terrace at the top, above the sheltered dock, for example.
The building’s perforated, geometric surfaces emphasise the connection with nature, encouraging light and air to filter through. User comfort was also carefully taken into account. ‘As the seasons shift, the dock provides greater shade during the heat of the summe, and welcomes more sun during the cooler winter months,' say the architects.
The main materials used are steel (for the gently angled roof and perforated stainless sides), timber and stone (the last two chosen for their inherent natural feel and tactile nature). Meanwhile, the overall ‘steel frame is designed and treated to last in the marine environment, enduring its fluctuating environmental conditions’, the team add.
It highlights Matt Fajkus Architecture's commitment to sustainable architecture and an eco-friendly approach that celebrates the land the practice designs for. §
INFORMATION
-
Dyson unveils a swathe of labour-saving devices to suck and blow order back into your homeFrom new robotic vacuums to powerful fans, this year’s Dyson Unveiled event in Berlin laid bare the company’s plans for home appliance hegemony
-
Remembering Giorgio Armani, arbiter of Italian elegance (1934-2025)The icon of Italian style has passed away aged 91, it has been announced by his eponymous house today (4 September 2025)
-
Design fairs are expensive. This new hybrid gallery wants to give creatives an alternativeHello Human House – a new gallery, events space, and office – wants to make it easier for artists and designers to share their work
-
Meet Studio Zewde, the Harlem practice that's creating landscapes 'rooted in cultural narratives, ecology and memory'Ahead of a string of prestigious project openings, we check in with firm founder Sara Zewde
-
The best of California desert architecture, from midcentury gems to mirrored dwellingsWhile architecture has long employed strategies to cool buildings in arid environments, California desert architecture developed its own distinct identity –giving rise, notably, to a wave of iconic midcentury designs
-
A restored Eichler home is a peerless piece of West Coast midcentury modernismWe explore an Eichler home, and Californian developer Joseph Eichler’s legacy of design, as a fine example of his progressive house-building programme hits the market
-
How LA's Terremoto brings 'historic architecture into its next era through revitalising the landscapes around them'Terremoto, the Los Angeles and San Francisco collective landscape architecture studio, shakes up the industry through openness and design passion
-
Inside a Donald Wexler house so magical, its owner bought it twiceSo transfixed was Daniel Patrick Giles, founder of fragrance brand Perfumehead, he's even created a special scent devoted to it
-
The Pagani Residences is the latest ultra-luxe automotive apartment tower to reach MiamiRising up above Miami, branded apartment buildings are having a renaissance, as everyone from hypercar builders to crystal makers seeks to have a towering structure bearing their name
-
A modern cabin in Minnesota serves as a contemporary creative retreat from the citySnow Kreilich Architects' modern cabin and studio for an artist on a lakeside plot in Minnesota was designed to spark creativity and provide a refuge from the rat race
-
Touring artist Glenn Ligon's studio in Brooklyn with its architect, Ravi RajGlenn Ligon's studio, designed by architect Ravi Raj, is an industrial Brooklyn space reimagined for contemporary art
