I hope to see you at the Modern Home Tour today! Be sure to bring umbrellas and shoes that are easy to slip on and off. Please respect the privacy of the homeowners that have so graciously opened their homes – no photography, please.

I am pleased to report that one of my projects has been selected for the 2012 Austin Modern Home Tour. Please stop by 104 Thistle Court on February 4th from 11 am to 6 pm to have a look and say hi – apologies in advance if I am unable to chat with you. More information can be found at modernhometouraustin.com.

This home is designed for casual family living. Spaces are simple, open, and connected to the outdoors. Simple, durable materials are used to articulate and enrich the design. The home design also employs and integrates passive and active solar design strategies and technologies: the home is lit primarily with natural light during the day, two large roof mounted PV arrays produce power during the day, and a large roof mounted water heating system is used for the pool. The roof, in addition to being the protective cover of the home, is also a massive resource collecting device – all rainwater is harvested, solar energy is converted into power or hot water. Likewise, the back porch, in addition to being the primary outdoor living space for the family, is a device used to mitigate solar heat gain on the west-facing portion of the home.

This past weekend, Breed & Co. along with Tribeza, presented the Playscape Project featuring the work of Burton Baldridge Architects, Pollen Architecture and Thoughtbarn (not to be confused with Thoughtcrib). Each firm designed and built their own playscape suitable for smaller backyards. The playscapes were auctioned off and kits for the playscape will continue to be sold at both  Breed & Co. locations for the remainder of the year. Proceeds will benefit the Friends of Lost Pines State Parks for repair and improvements of the playground at Bastrop State Park.

All three of the playscapes we great. Baldridge’s was a modern interpretation of ubiquitous, usually cedar, playscapes. I was actually able to climb on this one – I loved the ‘hidden’ doors, the smell of cedar and large cantilevers for swings & slides. Pollen’s was very original - clever assemblage of PVC pipes and bungy cords. I was unable to personally test it as I feared I would have exceeded the limits of the bungy cords (and my own body). Thoughtbarn’s was a great take on a few of my childhood favorites – building blocks and monkey bars. It also looked like a giant beehive/igloo.

The most important critics – the children – showed their appreciation by enthusiastically playing on each of the units. 

When you live in a place that has 3 months of 100+ degree summer weather, one of the only ways to keep your sanity is to stay close to a body of water. In the case of some of my clients, they chose to build one such body in their own back yard. For their design/build team they chose Thoughtcrib and Foursquare Builders.

The pool & terraces were designed to serve a few functions. Foremost, the pool was to provide respite from the Texas heat and features seating areas, a sunning/soaking deck with fountains and a lap lane. Second, the pool terraces provide additional outdoor living spaces for casual lounging and dining. The design also resolved the poor connection of home to site via the series of terraces - connecting interior spaces to various outdoor living spaces to yard. Finally, the design worked to frame the magnificent view of the hills as well as hide less awe-inspiring items such as a new storage area, pool equipment and a dog run.

This project highlights the power of thoughtful design to solve design problems in a rigorous and serendipitous manner that is appropriate to the site and to the clients’ needs, desires and budget.

I am very excited about this year’s home tour – it looks to be one of the best yet! I will be making my rounds over the weekend as well as docenting the home by Brian Dillard (pictured) on Saturday. Hope to see you there!

More information here: http://aiaaustin.org/event/25th-annual-aia-austin-homes-tour-0

If you live in or near San Antonio and are interested in learning more about solar, consider attending the Solar Education Party hosted by Circular Energy. The event will be held at The Dominion Country Club from 5:00 – 7:00 pm. Drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be served. Click here for more information and to RSVP.  Please feel free to forward this invitation to your neighbors, friends and family.

Topics to be covered:

• Economic advantages of adding a solar PV system to your home or business
• Local and federal incentives available to your home or business when adding a solar PV system
• How a solar PV system interacts with your home or business to create electricity from the sun

The annual Cool House Tour hosted by the Texas Solar Energy Society (TXSES) in conjunction with Austin Energy Green Building Program is this Sunday, June 5 from 10:00 am – 6:00 pm. Tickets are available at both Austin Central Market locations for $17 ($15 +$2 service charge) or at all homes on the day of the tour for $15. Visit the TXSES website – txses.org – for more information. Click here for: Online Tour Guide. Photo above courtesy of Travis Young of Studio Momentum who has two homes on the tour this year.

LEED Accredited Professionals: The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has approved the tour for GBCI continuing education hours! For each house you visit on the tour, you will be able to earn 1 GBCI CE hour, up to 8 hours. To document the hours, there will be sign-in sheets at each home. For more info, email liana.kallivoka@austinenergy.com. Spread the word.

Hope to see you there!

Another of my projects that has received some press recently – Birdlip Residence. Happy to have worked with such a great project team!

Click here for PDF cover story:  Austin / San Antonio Urban Home – April/May 2011 Cover Story.

Last weekend, the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin held its annual MAX Awards Gala to honor those who made significant and creative contributions in residential home building through specific achievements during 2010. I was honored with the award for Best Product Design $150,000 – $250,000 for the MILHouse 2.0. I was also a finalist in the following categories:  Best Product Design $750,000 – $1,000,000 (Birdlip Residence), Best One-of-a-Kind Home, Best Green Home, Affordable Green Home, Green Built by Design, Best Kitchen – Custom Builder, Best Master Bath – Custom Builder.

All of my work that was recognized was done in collaboration with Foursquare Builders - to whom I owe a special thanks. Foursquare also took awards for their advertising campaigns created by Chris Minor (who also assisted me with the MILHouse 2.0), Construction Manager of the Year (Matt Carswell who built both the MILHouse 2.0 and Birdlip Residence) and for Custom Home Builder of the Year (Wes Wigginton, Foursquare Builders). This shows the importance of selecting and working with great teammates. I would also like to thank my clients Richard, Claudia, Michael and Pat for your trust – without you none of this would be possible.

Finally, since I was not able to give a speech, I would like to thank my wife Debora for her encouragement and constructive criticism of every project I do. I would be remiss not to acknowledge that all of my best ideas come from her (dangit!). Have I mentioned that it is very important to work with great teammates?

The complete list of MAX Award winners can be found here: http://hbaaustin.com/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=775