![Bouldin Residence / Alter Studio - Facade, Windows](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5012/c427/28ba/0d14/7d00/0967/medium_jpg/stringio.jpg?1414083098)
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Architects: Alter Studio
- Year: 2009
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Photographs: Paul Bardagjy Photography, Jonathan Jackson Photography
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Manufacturers: Conran shop, Droog
Text description provided by the architects. When the clients for the Bouldin House, a young couple in the music industry, approached Alter Studio they didn’t have an image in mind, or a site, but knew that they wanted a very special home that would embrace the many different things that they liked. The design presents an aesthetic that engages serendipity in many guises, where board-formed concrete, rough recycled wood flooring, and vertical cedar siding is posed against abstract detailing allowing sunlight and shadow from every direction.
![Bouldin Residence / Alter Studio - Windows, Facade, Garden](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5012/c455/28ba/0d14/7d00/096f/newsletter/stringio.jpg?1414083101)
The house takes advantage of Austin’s 25’ front yard setback requirement by capturing a private walled courtyard on the busy street to the south, and instead turns to face the side street to the east. Situated between this courtyard and a protected live oak tree, the Bouldin House is a compact, 2-story building that expands both north and south into the lot. Carefully orchestrated windows, skylights and a glass floor further open the house to the sky and sun, and provide a continued sense of openness to this 2300 sq ft home. Rooms are designed to provide both intimacy and expansiveness. A cozy 9’ x 9’ media room sits at the center of the house downstairs, while the upstairs office/studio stretches the full 43’ length of the house and is open on both ends to continue the sense of breadth and engage views of downtown. Butt-glazed corners and windows that rise beyond interior ceilings add a sense of surprise and ambiguity to the whole.
![Bouldin Residence / Alter Studio - Image 6 of 9](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5012/c443/28ba/0d14/7d00/096c/newsletter/stringio.jpg?1414083109)
Oriented for optimal cross ventilation, the Bouldin House also is outfitted for a rainwater collection system, solar photovoltaic array, solar pool heating tubes, reflective TPO roofing, cellular foam insulation, tankless water heaters, etc. Their desire for a sustainable lifestyle is also reflecting in their decision to live centrally and work from home, all within a modest sized footprint.
![Bouldin Residence / Alter Studio - Bathtub, Windows, Bathroom, Shower](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5012/c449/28ba/0d14/7d00/096d/newsletter/stringio.jpg?1414083107)