HOUSE 1700
Featured on 2018 AIA Houston Home Tour
Awards: AIA Houston Home Tour – 2017
Publications: Houston House & Home – NOV 2017
Date: Completed 2015
Size: Site 5,000 SF | House 4,357 SF
Location: Houston | TX
Located in the deed-restricted Cherryhurst subdivision of Houston, House 1700 developed out of negotiation and compromised with both the city and homeowner’s association. The site and design is organized around a mature oak tree located in the city right of way. In order to preserve the tree and still have room for the house on the lot, a trade-off was proposed: the setback line was reduced along a portion of the lot and increased in the vicinity of the tree. With agreement from the Houston Planning department, the design received a green light. Additional HOA requests included a sloped roof and third-floor space only within a dormer. These requirements, as well as the desire to focus primary living spaces on the old oak tree, controlled much of the massing and form of the house.
The tree acts as a natural filter for sun and improves privacy along the Eastern street-facing facade. The outdoor spaces and terraces are tucked within the tree canopy and adjacent indoor rooms share this connection to the outdoors. A highly reflective white terrazzo floor helps extend natural light into the first floor space and offsets a floating stair. The second level is accented with dark walnut woodwork and graphic wallpaper over a warm and quiet cork flooring. Large expanses of glazing, wood rain-screen siding, and textured brick together with an undulating roof plane further add to the feeling of life within a modern “treehouse.”
Photography: Joe Aker, Benjamin Hill