This West Austin house's leafy environs were critical in its design development. Titled Westview Residence and created by local architecture practice Alterstudio for a tight-knit family of four, the project seeks to address the case of the sprawling post-war suburbs that are ubiquitous to so many contemporary US cities, its architects explain, while taking its cues from the natural environment and the many opportunities for character and distinction that it poses.
Tour this West Austin house by Alterstudio
The house sits on the last remaining plot on a discreet cul-de-sac lined with 5-8000 sq ft, two-storey traditional homes. Surrounded by tall oak trees, low green foliage and a wet-weather creek, the site is nothing if not idyllic. The residence's design opens towards this setting, drawing on modernist architecture references of glazed façades and low-slung, pronounced roof overhangs, and meandering elegantly around existing mature plants.
'The design arose from working directly with the nuances of this particular property and the desire to create a private oasis for this family of four. The contours, trees, neighbouring properties and potential views were carefully mapped, and the building slips in between a large collection of Heritage Live Oak trees, assiduously avoiding their critical root zones (no trees were cut down for this project) and bridging across the wet weather waterway that runs through the centre of the property,' the studio writes.
'One enters on grade, removed from what is to come, and arrives into the house floating above a beautiful garden around which the whole house revolves. Slipping between two significant Live Oaks, the floating great room of the house opens entirely to the out-of-doors and is positioned for the most magnificent views into and beyond this newly defined natural sanctuary.'
Westview Residence is structured as a pinwheeling collection of grounded, masonry volumes. One contains the main living spaces; another a gym and office space, beyond the main garage; and two volumes at the rear of the plot host bedrooms (the primary suite designed as its own little universe).
Large, custom site-glazed windows in the sleeping quarters encourage communion with the outdoors, while all bedrooms are arranged around a deck and swimming pool overlooking the verdant landscape. This foliage and carefully planned sections of masonry walls ensure privacy too.
The architects conclude: 'We love the ease with which this house supports its inhabitants’ lifestyle, and that the character of the home is largely determined by the contingent qualities of its circumstance and use. Its use of abstraction serves as both frame and focus.
'Rather than highlighting its figure, per se, the house presents a modernism that serves as a primed canvas for the life lived within it, and the richness of materials, light, shadow, and the natural environment.'
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