In Progress - Stephen B. Chambers Architects, Inc. Call (214) 368-7293.

Texas Modern Home
done in collaboration with HKS Architects

The Texas Modern Home is executed with the clarity and simplicity of design consistent with the owners' modernist convictions while expressing the regionalist sensibilities of architect Stephen Chambers. In it's massing, proportion, sense of space, use of light, and structural principles it is thoroughly modern. But in its abstraction of elements of Texas culture, it references the regional matrix that nourishes it and gives it character. This expression of the culturally specific is a step toward an identity and as such can be seen as absolutely modern in its intent. Abstract Modern Regionalism respects the inherent qualities of the building materials, expresses the structure, has functional justification for its forms, but seeks meaning and context under the specific conditions of its locale. It is as rooted in Texas as the natural features that surround it.

In collaboration with HKS Architects, this home was designed using the principles of sustainability (green architecture). Most of the existing trees and much of the natural vegetation was preserved. Local materials and businesses are being used to reduce energy and transportation costs. Highly renewable resources, such as bamboo flooring, were specified. Efforts were made to retain as much water as possible on the site to reduce runoff and limit the impact on the public storm water drainage system (reduce urban flooding). Geo-thermal heat pumps were specified to reduce utilities and dependence on fossil fuels. Desuperheaters were added to the geo-thermal system to recover excess heat removed from the house during the cooling cycle to provide for domestic water heating. Windows were located to take into account the path of the sun and were provided with solar screens to limit direct sunlight but to allow daylighting. High efficiency foam plays a role in reduction of infiltration as well as increasing insulating values. Hot-dipped galvanizing was used to protect exposed structural and architectural steel to limit future maintenance. Respect for the site, use of recycled or renewable materials, and reduced dependence on limited resources are sustainable features of the design of the Texas Modern Home.