O’Connor House    |    Houston, Texas

In an eclectic neighborhood of older houses, new custom homes, and zero lot-line townhouses, the O'Connor house maximizes its 50 x 100-foot lot by setting back in the property and concentrating its views on the open space of a south-facing courtyard. The client requested a one-bedroom house with an office separate from the public area, a rose garden, and a lap pool. The courtyard is composed as a garden bisected by the entry walkway, with the pool as a water element on one side and a sunken rose garden on the other. To maintain the small footprint, rooms are divided between three floors and connected internally by stairs and an elevator, and externally with a steel structure that supports stairs, decks and sunscreens that protect the south-facing facade. The office on the second floor mezzanine overlooks the living and dining areas below on two sides.

• Steel Framed Sunscreen and Exterior Circulation
• Merit Award, Houston Chapter AIA, 2004
• Tour: Rice Design Alliance Architecture Tour, 2001