deep eddy residence

A west-Austin home for an art collector. The design intent here was to create a white background for the art pieces and punctuate it with strong articulations of material and pattern. 

Like all the projects in this portfolio, this house was a fast-track design build. After going through a flat-fee schematic design process, the second step is to create a detailed unit-cost budget and sign a cost-plus design-build contract. The client does not pay for design development or construction documents until after they are virtually guaranteed a set price for construction. 

This is a system that typically privileges function and program, and encourages an a-la-carte mental model for house features. This way of conceiving is practical for the handmade articulations of these projects, but it can also deteriorate the ability to retain a conceptual whole. A concrete ceiling and a woven steel gate can be deleted without causing undue harm to the project as a whole, but not all line items are so expendable. 

The front facade was actually the result of an iconic concept model being value-engineered. The empty left side was originally a square tube with beveled interior edge. The tube continued through the house and into the back yard, which activated both the rear canopy and the juliet balcony, which formed a deliberate incision into the dominant form. 

In this project, the absence of a stated budget was filled by a natural double-the-lot-price figure. When the stated budget was revealed to be much lower, the overall approach was already set in motion. 

Design is always a combination of conscious decision-making and decision-delaying. An early fixed anchor can exert a dominant influence into the mental emptiness of possibility. 

Project by JHA. Aaron Denton Co-designer, Co-construction manager, and Fabricator.