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Architects: 5G Studio Collaborative
- Area: 4600 ft²
- Year: 2016
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Photographs:Adam Mørk
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Manufacturers: Atlas Concorde, Western Window Systems, VELUX Group, American Tile, Bulthaup, Daltile, Stonepeak Ceramics, Storyland, Thermador, Zip Sheathing
Text description provided by the architects. The Winnwood Residence is a new 4,600 SF, single-story, a single-family contemporary residence that gives the owner the sense of living in the outdoor landscape year-round. The owner is an interior designer who has a deep love for gardening. The house is surrounded on all four sides by extensively landscaped areas, one of the sides being a conservation park managed by the Texas Parks & Wildlife and the US Dept. of Interior.
It was conceived as a solid black plaster mass, sitting within an enclosed garden, from which exterior voids were carved to create transition zones between the built and the natural. From within the house, all viewpoints to the exterior terminate upon lush landscaping. Large sliding glass doors open completely full width into integrated pockets in the walls on opposing ends of the house to allow natural ventilation to pass through the main living areas. The interior architecture is a simple, limpid space that is well daylit through full-height windows and a large skylight.
Rendered in smooth reflective interior plaster, the natural outdoor conditions lend subtle coloration upon the surfaces. The exterior finish is black plaster upon which climbing Boston Ivy is expected to overtake overtime; the shadowy blackness of the exterior surfaces allows one to truly enjoy light, not shadow, filtering through the trees. The architecture elegantly and quietly achieves its sustainability objectives; proposes a new vocabulary of architecture that is decidedly un-local yet celebrates Texas living, and is very much about the landscape as it is about the interior.
It is certified USGBC LEED for Homes Platinum; is a Net Positive Energy project; and utilizes Geothermal Heat Pump, Photovoltaic Solar Array, and Rainwater Harvesting. We introduced and educated the Owner on sustainability matters throughout the process; the Owner's project requirements did not initially include any sustainability requirements. We felt it important to strive for an exceptional architectural statement to embody environmental stewardship at a scale that sheltered the smallest unit of society.
