The developers program called for two speculative
townhomes of a contemporary architectural style
near downtown Dallas, Texas. The site is a narrow
corner parcel of 8,550 sf, the longer side of which
faces west and fronts a busy tree lined street. 3,200
sf of living space and three enclosed parking places
were required for each unit.
The site orientation, setbacks, and program dictated
a compact, intensely utilized volume to achieve an
open flow within the interior spaces but also maintain
a high degree of privacy and separation. The design
response is based on the idea of a classic urban
villa — strong street edge and public presence with
a progression of spaces opening to a private urban
scale garden — and adapts it to both the site and
the pair of dwellings. Facing the street are large
translucent ‘bay windows’, providing both softened
natural daylight throughout most of the interior and
the framing for an open stairwell. Beyond the stair,
the living/dining areas and the garden are treated
as one large unified space, with only a clear plane
of glass separating.
Both the wall and floor structures are poured
concrete incorporating insulated concrete forms
for high thermal and acoustic performance. The
bay window is extruded polycarbonate with UV/low
emissive coatings and a prismatic diffusion layer
which creates the characteristic glow throughout
the interior. Exterior finish materials include poured
concrete and stucco walls, slate roofing, and
galvanized steel fittings and trim — all selected
to weather with a compatible chromatic character.