SPECIAL EVENTS

The American Institute of Architects-Houston features nine notable buildings on the AIA Houston 2010 Home Tour.  Nine (9) architect-designed houses will be open Saturday, October 23 and Sunday, October 24 from 12:00 noon to 6:00 pm each day.

Sustainability, open floor plans, connection of indoors to outside, abundant light, and a mixture of modern and traditional materials mark key features of this year’s houses. Comfort and elegance are consistent traits. Houses were chosen for the tour to showcase a variety of styles and types including single family houses, town homes, livework places, and incorporation of a residence into an historic commercial strip.

The houses are in Bellaire, Southampton, Mid-town, and River Oaks and range in size from 2,000 SF to 6,500 SF and from modest budgets to generous ones, demonstrating that excellence in design is not limited by size or dollars.

The American Institute of Architects Houston is the professional organization for more than 1,800 architects and other design professionals in the greater Houston area. Its mission includes service to members and to the public. www.aiahouston.org.

2010 Home Tour House Descriptions: 

HOUSE 1
8210 Hillcroft
MC2 Architects
The plan of this house is based on 3 squares rotating 10° from each other creating a courtyard around a large Live Oak tree. The first square contains the garden, the second the living spaces, and the third the sleeping area.

HOUSE 2
4412 Effie
Studio Red Architects
Built on a tight urban site, this house emphasizes sustainability and energy efficiency and incorporates as much natural light as possible. Outdoor spaces were designed as extensions of the interior.

HOUSE 3
4300 Betty Street
Hollenbeck Architects
This stucco, stone and mahogany house was inspired by Mexican architecture. A natural light-filled, twostory axis divides the living spaces.

HOUSE 4
2115 Wroxton Road
Stern and Bucek Architects
Built on 2 lots, this 6,500SF house is planned around three courtyards onto which each first-floor living space opens creating imaginative inside-outside relationships. The plan has two intersecting bars – one brick and the other cypress planks. Flat zinc panels enhance the exterior materials palette.

HOUSE 5
2207 Milford
StudioMET
This live/work project explores the design possibilities of mixed uses on a small scale. The program included an office space for her interior design company, guest quarters, and a private residence in 3,690SF.

HOUSE 6
2712 Colquitt Street
Val Glitsch, FAIA
A 13’ wide addition to the east side of the owner’s original 1,400SF studio transformed the studio into a house with an enclosed garden and pool.

HOUSE 7
1921 Westheimer
Murphy Mears Architects
This classically inspired one-story stucco residence is located behind the owner’s antique store in an old brick commercial strip on a busy street. Salvaged materials were used in new construction, including steel casement windows.

HOUSE 8
1212 Hyde Park Boulevard
Collaborative Designworks
By using formal balance and common finishes two houses on adjacent lots imply a relationship without repeating the same design. One house has living spaces on the second floor organized around a large outdoor terrace; the other flips this parti with living areas on the ground floor opening onto a private courtyard and pool.

HOUSE 9
2125 Troon
Jay Baker Architects
This traditional-style house has a steep incline at the street, but manages a rear alley. Spatial sequences focus on an interior-exterior architectural promenade: room-to-room-to-garden, room-to-garden-t-room, and garden-to-room-to-garden.