Featured Houses

Tarrytown Residence by Alterstudio

Austin, Texas

Architects & Firms

Location: Austin, Texas

Project size: 4,200 square feet

Program: This two-story single-family residence—composed of two rectilinear volumes clad in long-format black brick and black-stained cedar—adds a contemporary feel to its otherwise traditional, post-war neighborhood. The house is bound by a walled garden along the street and a courtyard at its rear; the interior opens to the outside under a ubiquitous ceiling plane.

Solution: The visitor enters under a meandering limb from an adjacent Live Oak tree, through a carefully choreographed sequence of spaces. In the middle of the house, an unexpected cut in the roof opens the center of the home to the sky, balancing the light in the interior and framing views into the tree canopy above. A two-story library and similarly-scaled screen porch add a sense of verticality to this otherwise horizontally organized home. A glass-floored catwalk allows access to the library’s upper bookshelves from its lofted office. This bridge also forms a Juliet balcony that looks out over the screen porch.

Construction and materials: Carefully considered everywhere, construction and detail play an integral role in the character of the house. A custom, site-glazed window system was designed to minimize the presence of a window frame, while special steel detailing – custom structural steel columns, steel fascia and trim, a glass floor and steel bridge, and a double-height, steel screen porch —combine with an unusual black brick and purpose built wood cabinetry and furniture.

Additional Information

Completion date: April 2019

Photo © Casey Dunn Photography, click to enlarge.

Photo © Casey Dunn Photography

Image courtesy Alterstudio, click plans to enlarge.

Credits

Architect:
Alterstudio Architecture
1801 Lavaca Street #106 Austin TX 78701
512-499-8007
http://www.alterstudio.net/

Personnel in architect's firm who should receive special credit:
Kevin Alter (Partner) ,Ernesto Cragnolino FAIA (Partner), Tim Whitehill (Partner), Joseph Boyle AIA (Project Architect), Shelley McDavid AIA (Project Architect), Sara Mays (Interior Designer)

Interior designer:
Alterstudio Architecture

Engineers:
MJ Structures (Structural Engineer)
Positive Energy (Mechanical Consultant)
Holt Engineering (Geotechnical)

Consultants:
Landscape: Word + Carr Design Group

General contractor:
CleanTag
https://cleantag.net/

Photographer:
Casey Dunn Photography

Specifications

Structural System:
Manufacturer of any structural components unique to this project: Drophouse Design

Exterior Cladding:
Masonry: Corso Brick by S. Anselmo https://www.santanselmo.com/corso-bricks.asp
Metal panels: Custom Steel fascia and façade by Drophouse Design
Wood: Ebony Stained Cedar Siding by Delta Millworks https://deltamillworks.com/

Windows:
Metal frame: Ram Windows; Heritage Windows;

Doors:
Metal doors: Heritage
Special doors: Custom exterior doors by Drophouse Design

Hardware:
Locksets: FSB, Emtek
Pulls: Schwinn, Linnea, Soubreny
Other special hardware: CR Laurence, Sugatsune

Interior Finishes:
Cabinetwork and custom woodwork: Tim Cuddy Cabinetry
Paints and stains: Benjamin Moore
Wall coverings: Twenty2
Solid surfacing: Caesarstone
Floor and wall tile: Jasba, Original Mission Tile, Stone Solutions, Interceramic, Mudtile
Special interior finishes unique to this project: White Oak Wood Flooring, Honed Absolute Black Granite

Lighting:
Interior ambient lighting: Zaniboni Recessed Can; Roll and Hill Modo chandelier at Dining Room; Cedar and Moss Alto at Guest Bath; Foscarini Gregg Suspension at Kitchen

Plumbing:
Tubs, sinks: Kohler
Showers: Hansgrohe, Grohe
Toilets: American Standard
Faucets: Grohe

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