Project: River Ranch
Architects: Jobe Corral Architects
Location: Texas, United States
Project Year: 2018
Photography: Casey Dunn
Description by Jobe Corral: The design for a main house, guesthouse and fly tying studio is deeply connected to the land. Its protective form shields inhabitants from the Hill Country elements while expressing a strong sense of place. Two-foot thick rammed earth walls seem to spring from the land to form a protective outside layer of the C-shaped plan, an otherwise glassy and open structure.
A lap pool, screened porch and extensive terrace reside in a courtyard facing the meadow below. Large, mature oak trees surround the building’s north and south edges, blocking both the strong southern and northern winds.
Generous overhangs, steel trellises and wood screens protect the building further, filtering light when desired and shielding glare when needed. The massive rammed earth walls are visible from every room of the River Ranch, at times playing a main role and at others seeming to blend into the surrounding landscape.
Stucco, cedar, steel, glass, and limestone complete the materials palette, with custom copper details appearing on the fireplace and front door. An outdoor fire pit, kitchen, dining and the screened sleeping porch further strengthen the indoor/outdoor connections.
