LeanToo

There is a clarity to it and a soulfulness to it. The way the addition related to the site and to the existing house was very concise and very poetic.

-David Darling, AIA
AIA Austin Design Award Juror
(link)

Austin, Texas

A work from home couple liking the vibe of South Austin found a 900sf 1936 cottage crowded between leaning live oaks and a drainage easement to a creek.

They wanted a home to share with close friends and a respectful, but decidedly modern reinterpretation of the modest gabled house. New floating terraces avoid low hanging branches, allow surface water flow and make the landscape part of the architecture.

Modern windows and a white interior and exterior paint scheme simplify the older structure. An elemental steel and glass 1,000sf lean-to addition contains a carport, a wide entry gallery, and screened porch.

The new addition clad in reused galvanized metal is long and low in proportion, contrasting the slightly taller and more symmetrical older home with its clean white teardrop siding.

Recognition:
2023 Aug/Sept Western Art & Architecture Magazine Rendering: Dynamic Duo
2021 AIA National Housing Award, One- and Two Family Custom Residences
2020 Texas Tech College of Arch. and Design Honor Award
2019 Texas Society of Architects Design Award
2017 March/April Texas Architect Magazine
2017 AIA Austin Design Award of Merit
2016 AIA Austin Homes Tour
2016 Austin Home Magazine Fall Issue