The northern suburb of University Park is the leafy setting for this new Dallas house designed by local studio Smitharc Architecture + Interiors. Despite being just a few miles from downtown Dallas, this is a verdant, suburban oasis, home to Dallas Country Club and golf course.
The family house – named St Andrews Residence – sits on a wedge-shaped site directly opposite the greens, with the plan arranged to take in the views across the street.
Covering some 9,000 sq ft, the programme accommodates the busy lives of a family with three children. The lower-ground floor is a playground of function and entertainment, housing a garage, gym, ballet room, golf simulator room and den, while the ground floor is extensively glazed, with the main living spaces looking out onto the tiered lawn that steps up from the street at the front, and across a pool and garden at the rear of the property.
The main bedroom is also housed on the ground floor, while the children’s rooms, guest suites, and an art studio are set on the upper level, with a rooftop lounge located on the upper deck.
Despite its suburban location, St Andrews Residence has more in common with the glass and steel spires of downtown, with sleek finishes, overscaled interiors and high-tech detailing. Interior design was by Collins Interiors.
The most dramatic feature is the 13 ft-tall sliding glass walls, set within steel frames along recessed tracks to allow the living spaces to open up to the garden.
These are paired with slatted steel solar screens, which help keep the hot Texan sun at bay during the heat of the day. The architects claim inspiration from rural vernacular architecture, back when screening was the only way to condition air.
The main service spaces are all contained within the central spine, a monumental wall clad in Indiana limestone that also acts as a buffer between the glassy, public realm and the more private areas of the house. This stone wall is lit from above by a skylight that runs almost the entire length of the house, an impressive 93ft, cutting through the living room, dining area, kitchen, utility room and main bedroom.
Unadorned I-beams support bleached cypress-clad ceilings, with a Bulthaup kitchen in satin aluminium to continue the industrial palette. The other key interior element is the staircase, which blends a ribbon of folded steel with a sturdy curved support.
The glazed living space is effectively a pavilion separating the house’s front and back garden, complete with sliding doors that create a pathway right through it.
This is a house conceived for entertaining, carefully concealing its scale and scope through the set-back design and modest street frontage.
INFORMATION
-
Aesop’s Salone del Mobile 2024 installations in Milan are multisensory experiencesAesop has partnered with Salone del Mobile to launch a series of installations across Milan, tapping into sight, touch, taste, and scent
-
Dial into the Boring Phone and more smartphone alternativesFrom the deliberately dull new Boring Phone to Honor’s latest hook-up with Porsche, a host of new devices that do the phone thing slightly differently
-
Berlinde De Bruyckere’s angels without faces touch down in Venice churchBelgian artist Berlinde De Bruyckere’s recent archangel sculptures occupy the 16th-century white marble Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore for the Venice Biennale 2024
-
A Petra Island house rises from Frank Lloyd Wright's original drawingsBased on Frank Lloyd Wright drawings, the cantilevering Petra Island Massaro House, located in New York’s Hudson Valley, is now open to visitors
-
An Upper West Side apartment by General Assembly nods to its historyAn Upper West Side apartment in New York, born out of the reimagining of two neighbouring units, is refreshed by General Assembly for a young family
-
New York's Leica store echoes the brand's blend of heritage and innovationLeica store throws open its doors in New York's Meatpacking District, courtesy of Brooklyn based Format Architecture Office
-
Hudson Valley Residence is a low-lying retreat that seamlessly blends into the horizonDesigned by HGX Design, Hudson Valley Residence is a scenic home offering unobstructed views across the Catskill Mountains in Upstate New York
-
Boise Passive House’s bold gestures support an environmentally friendly designBoise Passive House by Haas Architecture combines sleek, contemporary design and environmental efficiency
-
At the Hilbert Museum of California Art’s expanded home, art and architecture convergeThe Hilbert Museum of California Art expands its home, courtesy of Los Angeles architecture studio Johnston Marklee
-
Pearlman Cabin by John Lautner is an organic Californian mountain retreatJohn Lautner’s midcentury Pearlman Cabin, tucked away in the Californian mountain resort of Idyllwild, is a striking example of organic architecture
-
Albert Frey’s Aluminaire House is reborn in Palm SpringsAluminaire House, designed by legendary modernist Albert Frey, has been reconstructed outside the Palm Springs Art Museum
