Red, Wood, and Blue

In a city known for its progressive politics and creative residents, the Bouldin Creek neighborhood in south Austin, Texas, may be the epicenter of the city’s bohemian personality. This is where artists, writers, photographers, designers, and musicians can still find places with decent rent without having to sacrifice the proximity to downtown’s galleries, shops, and coffee bars. It’s also one of the only centrally located neighborhoods left in town where an aspiring architect has the chance to find a vacant lot to build on, as well as open-minded individuals willing to experiment.

For Thomas Bercy (27) and Calvin Powei Chen (29), both just a few years out of the University of Texas architecture school, the neighborhood was exactly what they were looking for. With a downtown lot, not only would they be able to build the inaugural house in Austin for their design firm, Bercy Chen Studio, they would also be able to provide Bercy, his brother Yannick, and Yannick’s family a place to call home in an up-and-coming part of town. “Since my brother and I were both living in Austin, it was financially feasible for us to develop a property,” says Bercy, who is Belgian and came to Texas with his family ten years ago. “And for Calvin and me, it was a starting point to get something built.”

What they built is a beautiful combination of functional architecture and modern aesthetics that is as much a sculptural showcase as a functional home. Two steel-framed rectangular volumes—one has a single story and the other has two—stand parallel to each other, though they have been staggered to take full advantage of the narrow lot and to provide ample outdoor living space. The buildings are connected by a glass-walled hallway that bridges a reflecting pool and water garden and there is an abundance of over-sized sliding windows, doors, and glass panels to blur the line between the built environment and the natural one.


Read more: http://www.dwell.com/articles/red-wood-and-blue.html#ixzz1h5j45ezM