2013 AIA Homes Tour

Went on the AIA Austin Homes Tour a couple weekends ago and had an architecturally good time. The bride wasn't interested ("Why do we need to look at houses? We have ours!" Engineers are so darn efficient...), so I went with CB, my stunt bride. After a hearty breakfast at Hillside Farmacy, we braved the crowds to gawk at houses.

I have a predilection toward (ahem) Modern houses, but there seemed to be a large number of borgitecture projects on the tour this year, some quite stealthy. My fave house on the tour was one that the stunt bride wanted to see (it wasn't on my list), a remodel/remod by a local architect, Nick Deaver:

Sadly, photos were not allowed inside, but this bungalow was quite awesomely modern and calming inside. The Deav kept the decorative elements in the house but painted everything except the floor a lightish governmentish green which flattened everything and kept attention on the furnishings, all tastefully modern. He added a large back porch lined with airfoils that twirl with the wind if disengaged.

He also lifted the house a foot or two to accommodate a downstairs apartment and architect's office. The walls were board-formed concrete topped with red-stained wood, something that gave the place a very Schindleresque feel a la El Pueblo Ribera Apartments in San Diego. 

Another favorite was the Hugh Jefferson Randolph house, another modern remodel with gorgeous details and decorating. 

A true modern house on the tour was the house by Dick Clark. The finishes didn't make my goat grumble, but a nice place nevertheless ("I could make it work if I had to...").

We bumped into the Usonian Expert at one of the houses, and he was stunnishly salivating over the Webber + Studio project for our pals, and for good reason. It's a stunning place!

We saw some other places as well, but these were the ones that we visited and left an impression with me. All in all a good time. Ran into a number of friends, saw jilted architects and builders, and recognized some art that some folks were wondering about ("That's a Jennifer Balkan!").

The next home tour on the calendar is the Austin Modern Home Tour. Here's a wee bit of foreshadowing: There may be a cantilevered house on the tour...