Location: Houston, Texas, USA
Size: 5,934 sf with 600 sf guest house
Year: 2016
Architects: Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects
Photography: © Matthew Millman
A professional couple purchased a two-acre wooded site in an exclusive neighborhood where traditional houses with grand entrances oriented to the street are typical. The clients desired a modern house providing California-style indoor-outdoor living – to the degree possible in Houston’s harsh climate, where summers are hot and humid and winters are wet. The mostly one-story plan takes advantage of the large site and creates strong connections to the outdoors with large expanses of glass interspersed with limestone masses. The couple opted for privacy by installing a driveway to locate their house deep within the flat property, making it invisible from the road. Dining and entertaining areas feature floor-to-ceiling glass pivot doors. The master bedroom, master bath and study all open out to secluded gardens. A two-story children’s wing with playroom, music room and study area overlooks a double-height family great room. Summer heat and heavy rainfall are managed with deep roof overhangs and slatted sunscreens shielding glazed surfaces. Materials included Texas limestone and Rheinzink, with poured concrete floors and custom back-painted glass cabinets indoors. At the entrance court, a large Rheinzink wall which morphs into the garage doors separates guest parking from the house, ensuring tranquility in the house and gardens.
Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects
All images courtesy of Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects
Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects
Led by Partners STEVEN EHRLICH, FAIA; TAKASHI YANAI, FAIA; PATRICIA RHEE, AIA; MATHEW CHANEY, AIA; and supported by eight Principals, Associate Principals and Associates, EYRC Architects’ design philosophy starts with a profound respect for a building’s inhabitants. This humanistic approach, referred to as MULTICULTURAL MODERNISM, has permeated the firm’s culture since the beginning, informing every creation and every interaction.
Honored with the AIA NATIONAL FIRM AWARD in 2015, Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects (formerly Ehrlich Architects) is a versatile practice that has earned an international reputation for design excellence and an exemplary professional culture. Founded in 1979 as a tiny residential studio, the Los Angeles-based firm is a 40 member team that has mastered building types ranging in scale from houses to courthouses, including libraries, university centers, corporate and government facilities. EYRC Architects has been recognized with more than 150 awards including nine national AIA awards, and the title of AIA California Council Firm of the Year in 2003. more
CONTACT
CULVER CITY, CA
90232
VISIT
Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects
Casalibrary 