Architects: Lake Flato Architects in collaboration with Natalye Appel Architects
Project: Bellaire Residence
Location: Bellaire, Texas, United States
Photography: Casey Dunn
Bellaire Residence sits on a previously undeveloped, narrow lot within a well-established and densely-occupied, urban neighborhood. Inspired by modular design, the client sought a modern home in which to enjoy gathering both indoors and out, tempered with privacy for sleeping and working. Careful configuration of the home activates an otherwise mundane, flat site by thoughtfully arranging various rooms around a series of landscaped courtyards and terraces. The rear and front courts serve as the home’s main public rooms. Concrete garden walls define these outdoor rooms and extend interior living spaces into the outdoors. The concrete language continues inside as the predominant floor material while natural wood provides warmth on various wall, ceiling, and floor surfaces throughout the house.
One story “jewel boxes” for gathering are combined with simple, two-story wings for sleeping and working. Outfitted in steel and glass, the jewel boxes include the living, kitchen, dining and great rooms – where the family spends much of their time together. Large expanses of glass allow abundant light and air into these spaces while broad overhangs and shading devices protect them from the harsh Houston sun. Simple and private, the wood-framed sleeping rooms with stucco volumes contrast with the voluminous steel and glass living/dining pavilions to complete the central courtyard – the heart of the house. These two stucco wings are connected by a light-filled, airy bridge that serves as an office overlooking the terrace.
