Designed by BuildingStudio, this project is a forty-five minute drive south of Dallas, is used for frequent weekday visits and longer weekend stays. The owners, avid bird watchers with an abiding love for the ranch, are restoring some of its areas by reintroducing wetlands, native grasses and indigenous bird populations. The retreat’s six bedrooms accommodates guests and acts as a beginning point where visitor’s can set out on loosely defined nature trails meant to offer a heightened appreciation of the landscape.

The main structure, oriented on an east-west axis, sits between hardwoods and an open meadow. The west entrance is situated between the woods and a smaller stand of live oak that shades the entry and west carport from the afternoon sun. The west parking area has a steeply angled 2X cypress screen — a “flag” — that announces the retreat’s presence for arriving guests. A similarly constructed angular screen surrounds the rooftop mechanical units.

The structure’s main roofs are supported by a twelve-foot on-center post-and-beam system that allows them to float above the main body of the building. This offers a two-foot band of clerestory that extends inside the house to provide an abundance of natural light. A wood stoop and pedestrian bridge of industrial metal decking connects the front entry to guest parking located at the project’s west end. The main structure is sheathed in aluminum industrial metal panels run horizontally.

An eight-foot wide sitting porch runs most of the main building’s length along the north side to face the woods. Between the tree line and the house there is an open lawn of buffalo grass. It is the only manicured part of landscape and is the play area for the owner’s grandchildren. A water trough and birdbath, the trough on axis with the main entrance, borders the west side of this lawn.

The north porch is connected to the two-bedroom guest quarters by a wood bridge. This bedroom wing, constructed of double-wythe brick walls, forms the east boundary of the open lawn. Another double carport, for ranch vehicles, is at the east end of the complex. Between it and the guest bedroom structure there is an outdoor dining porch with fireplace. Here, another water trough and birdbath extend east into the landscape toward a complex of Quonset hut outbuildings.

The guest quarter’s cantilevered concrete walk extends north, turning into a raised boardwalk that continues into the woods. This deck ends at the top of the scrub trees to become a bird watching platform. The foundation is post-tensioned slab-on-grade with glulam beams and steel columns forming the main structure. Walls are 2x wood framing with industrial aluminum siding and brick masonry for exterior walls. Interior partitions are painted gypsum board. Ceilings are exposed wood and floors are sealed concrete.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 10th, 2010 at 7:55 am and is filed under Architecture Design. Tags: beam system, bedroom wing, brick walls, BuildingStudio, Exterior walls, Holiday Desert House, Interior partitions, Landscape, main house structure, metal decking, native grasses, outdoor dining porch, pedestrian bridge, reintroducing wetlands, Texas Twister House, weekend stays, wood bridge. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.