Oklahoma Case Study House / Fitzsimmons Architects

Architect: Fitzsimmons Architects
Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States
Consultants: Obelisk Engineering, Applied Design, DavCo Construction
Project Area: 530 sqm
Project Year: 2010
Photographs:  Joseph Mills Photography 

Located in an elevated neighborhood just outside of Oklahoma City’s downtown, the Oklahoma Case Study House by Fitzsimmons Architects is helping to reinvest in a once decaying part of the city while also paying homage to the Case Study Houses of mid-twentieth-century California.  The site is located on a lot left empty after city demolition of rundown housing paved the way for new development in the area. The design is deliberate to take advantage of the elevated vicinity and capture as much of the unobstructed view to the downtown skyline as possible.

The main concept for the house was to combine a dense structure that would see to the Oklahoma climate while simultaneously appealing to the client’s appreciation for the residential aesthetic of the California Case Study Houses. The result is a modernist approach, uniting a simple composition of concrete, glass, and steel. The house size is more reserved in terms of square footage, but the open floor plans combined with large areas of glazing help create spacious connections throughout the inside and neighborhood beyond. Moreover, the terraces and elevated patios help to extend the open floor plan further, blurring the distinctions between interior and exterior.

The insulated poured-in-place concrete walls combined with geothermal heating and cooling allow for an innovative and energy efficient solution to comfort, while the recycled maple and rubber flooring work with the exposed steel structure and concrete walls to produce a simple yet invigorating interior.