Albert Cabin
Stepping through the stone wall portal marks a threshold from city life to the quiet rhythms of the Texas Hill Country. The cabin’s warm wood interiors and expansive glazing open to the surrounding oaks and sky. In the mornings, the southeast-facing bath welcomes the first light; in the evenings, the southwest-facing bedroom frames sunsets and starlit skies. Elevated on a gentle slope, the design balances privacy and openness, offering a serene refuge deeply connected to its landscape.
Location
Albert, Texas
Design Team
Kevin Barden and Joe Rivers
Renderings
Alex Warr
Typology
Residential
Date
2018
Process
Explore
West Texas Retreat
Alpine, Texas
Residential
Set against the rugged backdrop of West Texas, this renovation transforms a simple home into a serene retreat immersed in mountain and sky. Expansive glazing captures shifting light and distant peaks, while covered outdoor spaces invite connection to the land’s quiet rhythms.
Joe Rivers
Architect
Art and Design
In this episode, our resident architect Kevin Barden visits with our other resident architect Joe Rivers from Houston, Texas. Joe Rivers is principal architect at Rivers Barden Architects. Kevin sat down with Joe to discuss his influences in architecture, his interests outside of architecture, and the life lessons he’s learned along the way.
Immersive Tools
Kevin Barden
Writing
At a time when artificial intelligence and digital tools dominate discussions of architectural education, the practice of making large-scale physical models serves as an ever more important tool for the development of a student’s creative voice, sense of discovery, and long-term learning. Through an understanding of temporal and spatial kairotic environments and an iterative process these large-scale physical models possess the potential to embody experiential qualities in a meaningful manner.