After living on the property for five years, the owners were ready to build their new forever home and enlisted the help of Adam Lucas of ARLucas Construction Co. Adam recommended Studio Momentum Architects due to their experience with smaller inner-city lots and protected trees.

A large live oak tree inspired the site strategy of the primary home with a detached accessory dwelling unit. This move creates a courtyard between the buildings, with the tree canopy serving as an organic roof. Outdoor living spaces are formed by the two homes, including a screened porch, pool, and fire pit. The front porch and street-facing exterior pay homage to the scale and materiality of the surrounding historical context, while the interiors are modern and warm, with antique or reclaimed furniture and lighting in every room.

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Stealth House redefines the Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) as a private, self-sufficient retreat within a dense urban environment. Designed for a compact, alley-access lot, this 1,100-square-foot residence transforms limited space into a light-filled sanctuary through innovative planning and material selection. 

Keeping innovation and a unique spatial experience in mind, there are no perimeter windows. Instead, two internal courtyards provide daylight, ventilation, and nature-filled views. A primary courtyard with an olive tree offers shade and cooling, reducing energy demand. A secondary aviary courtyard with bamboo plantings introduces movement and texture. Floor-to-ceiling glass and mirrors enhance openness while maintaining privacy and tranquility.

The home is a model of sustainability featuring solar panels with battery backup for energy independence; high-efficiency VRF HVAC, LED lighting, and ultra-efficient appliances. Additionally, the home uses corrugated Cor-Ten steel cladding for durability, low cost, and low maintenance. By integrating privacy, security, and sustainability, Stealth House serves as a model for high-performance urban infill housing. 

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Casa Colibri is a quiet retreat tucked into the hillside of Barton Hills. The lower level is carved into the slope to reduce visual impact and preserve the surrounding tree canopy. A plaster-coated limestone wall with a German schmear finish—referencing neighborhood materials—anchors this level and forms a privacy wall at the street, shaping a calm and grounded entry. Above, the second floor hovers lightly over the base, separated by a clerestory. At the rear, expansive glass opens to trees, a pool, and pool house. With the upper floor nestled in the canopy, the primary suite takes on a quiet, treehouse-like feel. The house lives like a modern terrarium: glassy, calm, and immersed in nature. Casa Colibri offers a layered, inward-facing way to live with the landscape—private, peaceful, and deeply rooted in its setting.

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This project is a renovation and new construction to create a home that is practical, enduring, and rooted in its wooded, sloping site. We worked closely with the clients to adapt an existing house to their sensibilities and an added guest house that balances utility and simplicity with generosity and ease.

The house renovation focused on openness and clarity. A reworked entry layout of concrete, wood, and galvanized steel supports daily life. A new dining room—glass-walled and extending into the woods—opens to terraces and gardens. Upstairs, lowered partitions in the new primary suite emphasize an unimpeded ceiling.

The simple concrete guest house opens to the pool and garden. Strategic openings animate the interior with shifting light, and a wooden box encloses utilities.

These buildings create a calm and adaptable living environment—a careful balance of elemental materials well suited to the daily patterns and future needs of its occupants.

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The Govalle Homestead is a design-build by Drophouse and Russ Design Studio that embraces the adaptive reuse of a 1938 East Austin home, transforming it into a contemporary estate with two structures to accommodate three generations of family. A variance was received for the project, requiring the design to retain the primary structure's original facade, which helped preserve the property's historical character within the community. The interior was reconfigured with an open floor plan and modern amenities tailored to the retired couple's lifestyle.

Conversely, the rear dwelling, designed for the younger family unit, presents a distinct architectural contrast to the primary structure, enriching the site's overall complexity. Strategic placement of the residence between two heritage trees maximized spatial efficiency and allowed for adaptable living areas to accommodate future family needs. Both structures exhibit a deliberate connection to the landscape. The primary dwelling features a screened porch, deck, and plunge pool, while the secondary dwelling incorporates a generous covered patio. The interior yard, equipped with an outdoor kitchen and fi replace, connects the two residences, fostering a communal living space suitable for all occasions across generations. The home, which serves as the residence of a Drophouse co-owner, exemplifies the firm's ethos of design experimentation and exploration. It underscores dedication to honoring a property's architectural lineage while enhancing its ongoing evolution.

The team included Matt Satter of Drophouse and Mari Russ-Wolf, formerly of Drophouse but now with Russ Design Studio. The team collaborated and built the home while Mari was still with Drophouse. While Drophouse continues to work on custom residential projects, it focuses on its expertise in custom metal fabrication. Mari has since opened her own firm, continuing design work and practicing architecture.

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The Valburn project is a direct response to an open-minded client and a challenging sloped site. With a degree in interior design and having lived in New York City for many years, the client requested a house that would combine many of the urban typologies he experienced during his time there. Everything from high-rise penthouse condos to lofts and even urban alleys provided design inspiration.

In contrast to other more traditional homes in the neighborhood, the house presents simple massing and a quiet face to the street. Animated by a south facing brick pattern that provides a continuously changing series of shadows, the exterior is private but gives back to the street.

The interior spaces are a contrast of large open spaces focused outwardly to the beautiful views, and more intimate, inwardly focused rooms. Additionally, the use of natural light was a major consideration of the interior spaces.

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Nestled on a spacious corner lot in Rollingwood, just minutes from downtown Austin, this home is a timeless sanctuary for a growing family. Balancing openness and intimacy, its design centers around a sunlit courtyard—a safe-haven for children, always within view of loved ones. 

A generous covered lanai connects the main house to an office and guest retreat, fostering flexibility in daily living. Operable louvered panels respond to the rhythms of life, opening to welcome the neighborhood or closing for privacy. The materials root the home in its Texas landscape: locally quarried limestone walls provide a grounding base, offering both shelter and a neutral backdrop to lush greenery, while warm, responsibly-sourced cedar siding above will weather gracefully over time. These natural elements imbue the home with warmth and character. More than just a house, this is a retreat—offering solace, connection, and a sense of permanence amid the dynamic city beyond.

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Vista Lane is a marriage of modern detailing and traditional forms. Its steep roof pushed low over the second floor mitigates the overall building height, while a select, few dormer windows expand the interior volume on the second floor and further contribute to the home’s traditional character. In general, the architecture is sharply detailed and stripped of ornament. Interior moldings were replaced with gentle curves and rolled edges which are a tip of the cap to traditional detailing, while providing a decidedly modern aesthetic.

Situated on a lot accessible by two opposite streets, the diagram is organized to restrict vehicular and ADU tenant access to the rear of the lot, while pedestrians enter from the front. A Z-shaped diagram delineates two distinct yards. One yard space at the rear for entertaining, with a pool and a deep covered porch which provides respite from the afternoon sun. The other, a public-facing space, is ideal for yard games.

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This 1981 Acorn Deck House got its start as the model home for Central Texas in an effort to expand the Massachusetts-based company’s modular home business. Although the home featured an abundance of rich textures, expansive windows/doors, and a spacious layout, it felt dated and never fully embraced its tree-lined site and downtown views.

Four homeowners later, the home now goes by the name of The Sterling Cooper Residence as an homage to AMC’s show ‘Mad Men’ and its quintessential mid-century-cool vibe, and as a way to guide the aesthetic aspirations of the two-part remodel/addition.

Phase 1, completed in 2017, focused on remodeling the interior by opening spaces, expanding the kitchen, reimagining a secondary family room, and modernizing and brightening the material palette.

Phase 2, completed in 2024, concentrated on enriching the connections of the home to its site by adding a series of exterior spaces, a floating architectural stair, and an infinity pool that juts out into the valley.

The final product is a careful balance of deck house influence and modern expression in a home that invites visitors to stay for a cocktail or two.

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In this episode, architects Annie and Arthur of Side Angle Side discuss their project, the Harvey House, a featured home on the 2025 AIA Austin Homes Tour. The firm, which they started in 2016, focuses on creating thoughtful, custom homes that respond to the environment. Their philosophy is to listen intently to their clients' needs, ensuring each project feels like the client's home, not a signature stamp of the firm.

The Harvey House project is a renovation and addition to a 1935 bungalow. The journey began six years ago with a young couple who fell in love with the historic home. Initially, the couple decided to pause the main renovation and first build and live in the accessory dwelling unit (ADU) in the back. Over the years, as their family grew, they became a hub of their community, hosting friends, neighbors, and musicians. This deep connection to their neighborhood heavily influenced the final design when they revisited the main house renovation. The project became a "labor of love," focused on preserving the spirit of the original home despite significant structural issues like rot. This included salvaging and reinstalling original materials like the longleaf pine flooring and trim.The exterior features a distinct contrast between the original home's white siding and the addition's dark, burnished stucco. This was an intentional choice to differentiate the addition from the original structure. The house is U-shaped, wrapping around a central courtyard and pool, allowing the homeowners to keep an eye on their children from the kitchen. A truly unique feature is the children's attic playroom, which includes a large hammock-like net floor overlooking the den below, accessible by a red ladder. The spacious kitchen features a large blue island designed to feel like a piece of furniture. The client, Holly Beth, is an interior designer who made all the selections and has since joined the Side Angle Side team. To maintain privacy from a close neighbor, the primary bathroom features a massive skylight over the tub that floods the plaster-walled space with soft, natural light.

The project's photographer, Robb Gomez, noted that the home was a joy to shoot due to its incredible natural light. He also witnessed the family's strong community connection firsthand when the neighbors and their children came over to play and share a meal.

Don't miss the chance to experience the magic of the Harvey House and other stunning works of architecture. Join the AIA Austin Homes Tour on October 25th and 26th, 2025.

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