HOUSE X2

Awards & Publications:  AIA Houston Design Award – 2010 

LEED for Homes Silver Certification from USGBC 

AIA Houston Home Tour – 2008 

Houston Modern Luxury – Apr 2009 

Houston Lifestyles & Homes – Apr 2009

Date:  Completed 2008

Size:  Site 3,615 SF each  |  House 3,460 SF each

Location:  Houston | TX

HOUSE X2 emerged as the product of compromise, flexibility, and creativity. The challenging site at the edge of an established residential neighborhood had been slated for a controversial new office building when the Owners proposed an alternate use – a pair of homes for their growing families with one unit having the Architect’s office on the ground floor.

The scheme acts as a buffer between the residential and commercial neighbors bordering the property, a much appreciated resolution to the challenge created by Houston’s lack of zoning policies. The building’s contemporary aesthetic makes use of commercial materials and technologies for the live-work scheme, helping to mediate between the adjacent traditional residences and the larger scale and contemporary look of the nearby office buildings.

The city’s development code required the building to be set back a third of the width of the site, dictating a more vertical solution, but also bestowing the advantage of tree-top views. The building’s sculpted form is strategically designed for calculated window shading, protective cover at the entries, interlocking outdoor terraces, and to allow for more desirable window placement oriented North / South while preserving privacy.

Photography: Benjamin Hill, Joe Aker