Modern Home Tours is returning to Houston in September!
Benefiting:
DATE: Saturday, September 26, 2015
TIME: 11:00am – 5:00pm
COST: $30 Online in advance, $40 day of
LOCATION: Map link will be published here
TRANSPORTATION: Self-driving, Self-paced
Advance tickets are on sale through FRIDAY, September 25 at 5PM for $30 each. Tickets purchased after that time MUST be purchased at any of the tour homes beginning at 11:00 am on Saturday, Sept. 26 for $40 each. Children 12 and under are free.
Featured Homes
A – Houston, TX
Architect: studioMET Architects
Photography: studioMET Architects
Doing more with less is the ethos of this sustainable house for a young family in Houston. The tight lot was maximized by efficiently massing the volumes according to the ambitious programmatic wishes: an open concept kitchen-dining-living space, a master suite, 3 bedrooms, a family room, yoga terrace and storage.
Site considerations were strategic with a grass paver system tucked into the back of the lot to serve dual functions as a driveway and mini soccer pitch. A small Brazilian wood patio extends the living space outside where water, grass and sky meet. One example of sustainable material selection was the wooden floors on the stair treads and upper floor of the house; they were found and re-purposed through a program with Habitat for Humanity. Natural light was brought in through a sliding wall of glass and thoughtfully placed windows.
B – Houston, TX
Architect: Merge Architects, Inc., Keith Messick
Photography: Taggart Cojan Sorensen
This modern home represents the aspirations of the client, a family of three to have a modern residence where they can enjoy the comfort of their modern lifestyle and entertain their friends and family in a residence that is simultaneously livable and expressive. The challenges that confronted this project were numerous and the design is a testimony to collaboration, patience and faith that anything is possible when you employ the idea of “what if…” The two largest challenges that were overcome were the fact that being a corner lot, we had two major setbacks that minimized the useable size of the property and the fact that this lot is located in a flood plain. The first hurdle was overcome by taking several programmatic requirements vertical ultimately ending up with a house that is part one-story and part two-story where each wing of the house is volumetrically linked by the two-story height great room. This room is the central pivot from which each wing of the house stems. All common areas of the house open up to this room on all levels including the large covered back patio. The second obstacle was how to design a house that did not negatively impact the flood zone. The solution was to raise the house up on concrete piers and install an open skirt around the perimeter of stained cedar that would allow flood waters to be able to flow through but keep the underside of the house clear of debris and critters. The only portion of the house that is on a conventional concrete slab is the two car and motorcycle garage. This solution was an elegant solution that architecturally allowed us to articulate the elevated house from the natural grade. We additionally exceeded the intention of the prescriptive flood plain mitigation and impacted the site and surrounding neighborhood less than the minimum allowable amount of flood water displacement.
Working with the open plan diagram, the spaces within the house flow naturally from one place to the next providing a sense of openness and togetherness that was desired by the client. From the vantage point of the great room, the parents can be aware of where their child and his friends are, where their guests are and what everyone is doing. The second floor is accessed by a free-standing steel and wood stair that is supported only by one diagonal tube steel spine that is anchored minimally at the mid landing and the second floor. The stairwell is surrounded by glass walls that permit continual visual linkage to the rest of the house almost from every vantage point. The house wraps three sides of the property creating a very private courtyard and patio area that provides a comfortable place to enjoy the outdoors and future pool.
The materials of the house are comprised of white stucco, stained cedar tongue-and-groove siding, champagne limestone, split-stone, dark anodized aluminum framed insulated windows, and clear anodized aluminum which wraps the entry canopy and second floor bedroom window. The interiors are designed with minimalist tendencies utilizing unadorned painted drywall; inset flush wood and stone baseboards and custom cabinetry by Foscari Interiors.
C – Houston, TX
Architect: Scott Ballard Architect llc
Photography: Miro Dvorscak
This home is a very contemporary architecture on double lot in central Houston Upper Kirby District. Large open living area with double height glass wall opening onto pool area via Nanawall operable wall system. Central covered outdoor room with outdoor kitchen, deck above. Exercise room, Theatre, Gameroom, plus space for future bedrooms/baths.
D – Houston, TX
Architect: MASA Studio Architects, Mark Atkins
This stunning home captures your attention with zinc clad folded blades weave together stone, stucco, and ipe rainscreen building masses.
The dynamic design mirrors the energetic family who commissioned the home. The program for this highly efficient home emphasizes spaces for the couple and their two teenage boys to enjoy.
Through the 5’x10′ pivoting glass door, a series of interlocking volumes punctuate the interior. A sapele wood portal frames your view at the entry foyer while hovering ceiling planes lead your eye forward into the home’s family room located at the rear of the house. The family room extends to the outdoor living spaces and infinity edge pool, courtesy of a large sliding glass pocket door. A fireplace stone monolith firmly anchors the room in place. At the center of the home, a dramatic two-story window is the backdrop for robust steel and wood stair that spirals around a glass bocci ball chandelier to the private spaces on the second floor.
The home is fully automated for gaming and sporting events and is outfitted with integral LED lighting throughout. Other unique features include a 1st floor game room with access to a zen-like pool, cooking island and indoor basketball court for the family to enjoy year round.
E – Houston, TX
Architect: Intexure Architects, Rame Hruska
Set on a uniquely shaped lot in the Garden Oaks neighborhood this home stands apart from its neighbors while maintaining the scale and rhythm of the street. Designed for a family with young children this home demonstrates good design with a practical approach to real life solutions for modern life. A central axis divides the home into two halves separating the master and secondary bedrooms on the second floor and creating a circulation spine throughout the home. Windows are oriented to capture views and bring the exteriors in, including views to the pool which connect the home to the landscape. Clerestory windows help divide the vertical volumes and create the effect that the upper volume floats overhead. As a home to a geologist special care was made in the selection and craftsmanship of natural stone materials throughout the home. A custom fabricated stair and bespoke millwork details add warmth and character to the home. Sustainabili ty is achieved though a variety of features including with local materials, low flow plumbing fixtures, energy star appliances, high efficiency AC system, superior insulation, and drought tolerant landscaping.
F – Houston, TX
Interior Design: Amilee Wendt, Wendt Design Group
Photography: MD Photography
Renovated in 2014, this stunning loft in the Edge in midtown embodies a minimalist urban aesthetic with colorful artistic interludes.
G – Houston, TX
Architect: studioMET Architects
Photography: studioMET Architects
This introverted courtyard house is as much a tribute to the love the clients have for traveling, mid-century modern design, furniture, gardening and nature as much as it symbolizes a physical connection to beloved family members whose art adorns the walls.
The entry sequence into the house includes a sky court, wraparound deck, garden, outdoor living space and pool. Massing for the house includes a separate double height volume at the front of the property for a guest suite and an L-shaped configuration for the main house containing the kitchen, dining room and living room in the long bar.
Private spaces are amassed in the two-story volume of the short bar. The expression of the structural members on the courtyard elevation of the house add a layer of depth and honesty to reveal how the project was built. Additional layers to the inward looking courtyard are the covered patios, flatwork, landscaping and materiality such as the integration and transitions of brick to glass to concrete and wood.
