From the architect: This house, clad in 80%-recycled rubber tile shingles, received a 4-Star rating from the Austin Energy’s AEGBP. The design is a happy response to constraints of FAR limits on the owners’ program and the necessity to build around a large protected oak tree, beautifully but inconveniently located in the center of this modest-sized lot in Travis Heights.
The design is a response to some current economic and social trends in Austin: lot values have risen dramatically in the last years; stringent zoning “McMansion” restrictions for single-family houses have been enacted; and many families have chosen to build in the central city because of its quality of life.
As a response, we have designed more compact, functional houses — with no fewer amenities than suburban houses — but in less space. The Annie House is one example, where multifunctional spaces interlock in more complex, overlapping arrangements, and allow for rich and dramatic spaces for living.
Project Details:
Location: Austin, Texas, USA
Floor area: 2,700 sq. ft.
Architect: Tom Hurt Architecture in collaboration with Minguell-McQuary Architecture
Photographs: James Bruce, Jett Butler
