West Campus Residence

Project highlights: West Campus Residence

• Architecture firm:  Alterstudio
• Location:  Austin, Texas
• Category:  Three
• Project site: Residential - single-family detached
• Building program type(s): Previously developed 

After leaving a cherished modernist residence they called home for more than a decade, the architects and owners of this project purchased a student rental that sat on an unusual 80-foot-wide lot. The design for the home, which accommodates a growing family that includes a set of twins, is guided by a desire for a compact and efficient space that is tuned to its natural surroundings. 

Austin’s West Campus neighborhood plan offers a mix of housing types, carefully balancing single-family residences with high-rise multifamily buildings closer to the University of Texas’ campus. The architects’ deep knowledge and commitment to the neighborhood helped as they purchased the rental worked with neighbors in obtaining a variance to subdivide the property into two thin lots. While modest in terms of density increase, the subdivision brings new families to this quickly transforming neighborhood.

Throughout, the home underscores that compact living is an exercise in distilling spatial concepts to create an ensemble both efficient and generous. Its first floor is neither a warren of undersized spaces nor a contiguous great room. Instead, a series of spaces are both linked and differentiated by their architectural elements. Glazing that wraps the first floor disappears into the surrounding construction, seamlessly connecting interior and exterior spaces. Above, a larger second floor that allows each child to have their own room creates a series of porches that engage with the street at the front of the home and offer privacy at its rear.

The lower level takes advantage of its position beneath the tree canopy, its tempered daylit environment an important respite from the ever-present Texas sun. It is darker and more tactile than the second floor, with soapstone counters, mill-finished steel paneling, and white oak throughout. The second floor, by contrast, is the lower level’s bright counterpoint. Its bedroom windows project beyond the floor and ceiling, giving its occupants a sense of spilling out into the surroundings. There, smooth-finish drywall prevails, while oak flooring and limited steel create a link to the spaces below.

Overall, this home eschews housing trends dominating nearby Austin neighborhoods and prevailing real estate guidance. At just 1,922 square feet, it easily accommodates a family of five through a series of inventive solutions that support spatial efficiency and generosity.