This historic neighborhood in downtown Austin comprises some of the oldest houses in the area. However, the city’s rapid growth has put them under constant threat. Miró Rivera wants to save as many as possible, which often means convincing wary clients they can still get the fresh, functional houses they seek.
“A hundred years old in Austin is like the Pantheon in Rome,” says Miguel Rivera, FAIA. “We are always fighting people who want to demo an old house to build something new. Why not just build a modern addition?”
That’s what Miguel did for his own house, one these clients had tried to buy from him. Instead, they searched for a similar opportunity nearby and lucked into a derelict bungalow on a rare 60-foot-wide, 220-foot-deep lot.
As with most clients, Miguel’s had a long wish list for their new home. But achieving the openness and flow they wanted meant paring the program. “They wanted all this square footage and a second floor with a gym. I told them, just go join a gym.”
The trick to delivering that feeling of openness was a “Japanese approach of borrowed landscape,” says Miguel, who restored the bungalow and connected it via a new bridge piece to an addition that wraps around a courtyard.
There are four other outdoor areas connecting to the new plan, each augmenting the sense of spaciousness inside the house and providing a different experience outside. Said one judge, “I’m a sucker for a good site plan and they really maximized the potential of that site.”
Citation
Renovation
Miró Rivera Architects
Five Yard House
Austin, Texas
Project Credits
Architect: Juan Miró, FAIA; Miguel Rivera, FAIA; Ken Jones, AIA; Carlos Garcia, RA; Bud Franck, AIA; Nate Schneider, RA, Miró Rivera Architects, Austin, Texas
Builder: J. Pinnelli Company, Austin
Interior furnishings: Rachel Mast Design, Austin
Landscape Architect: Ten Eyck, Austin
Project Size: 5,512 square feet
Site Size: 0.30 acre
Construction cost: Withheld
Photography: Paul Finkel | Piston Design
Key Products
Aluminum Doors/Frames: Reynaers
Appliances: GE, Miele, Sub-Zero, InSinkErator, Whirlpool
Cabinet/Door Hardware: Ashley Norton, LINNEA, Accurate, Baldwin, Emtek, Sugatsune
Fixtures/Faucets: American Standard, Lacava, Rohl, Zen Bathworks, Kohler, Brizo
Paints: Benjamin Moore, Sherwin-Williams
Roofing: Owens Corning
Tile: Ann Sacks, Interceramic, Porcelanosa