After a year had passed, we sat down with the owner and asked what has changed about his life since completing the project. He told us that his home has become his sanctuary and the moment he passes into the front courtyard he feels a sense of peace. Upon entering this property through the open courtyard, you first notice the sense of privacy created by the breezeblock walls. The embedded steel address plate creates a subtle focal point as you transition between street and the pared down inner sanctum. That same simple language and sparse composition carry over to the backyard, which becomes increasingly focused on relaxation and memory making with every step.

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Upon entering the side gate, you reach the first of three satellite spaces that orbit around the glass-enclosed sitting room. Here, spacious seating across from an outdoor tv supports relaxed hangouts and catching the game over the weekend.

 

The next space is nestled under a tree and reaches into the yard. It features a firepit within concentric rings of seats and plantings Throughout the property the paving rhythm reacts to the openings and edges of the house for a more harmonious relationship to the interior.

 

Many details were considered. Even the more mundane elements like bespoke mounts and seals to weatherproof the fans and pendant lighting off the cedar and steel pergola. A long concrete dining table looks onto the custom kitchen; an inset Big Green Egg and pellet grill are surrounded by a wide concrete work surface that invites large scale entertaining. Beneath, the integrated cabinets and shelving provide ample storage and echo the wood stain of the pergola and the accent colors of the home itself.

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Even with all of these functional activities we tried to compose them in an unfussy and minimal way and to hear that the client finds peace in that is incredibly fulfilling. 

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From the client:

 "I work downtown in kind of a concrete box, nothing really nature-driven, and when I drive home and walk in through that first open courtyard... it makes me feel like there's a little oasis I'm walking into that's very much my own. It's just an immediate feeling of being home, being comfortable, being in a space that I'm proud of, but more importantly, that just brings all the right notes to make me unwind from the day."

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"OES feels like exactly what Austin should be. [The team is full of] young people, very enthusiastic, not trying to turn this into a Las Vegas or LA-style, show-as-much-money-as-you-can sort of thing, it really was more about tailoring the space to the house, to the neighborhood, to the client"

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"As soon as I walked into your office, I knew that you all were very close to each other, you weren't just trying to put on a big show or oversell or push me into anything I was uncomfortable with, there was always good back and forth about let's be reasonable about spaces, let's be reasonable about budget, do you really need this sort of thing... it was a very collaborative process."