Skip to content

Listening to the language of the existing historic home, this addition of a new Garage Quarters, Outdoor Living, Pool, and Gardens blends seamlessly with the property’s original character while enhancing its functionality. Natural light, refined detailing, and careful material choices create a timeless connection between old and new, honoring the neighborhood’s architectural heritage while meeting the needs of contemporary living.

Location

Houston, Texas

Design Team

Kevin Barden, Joe Rivers, and Esmer Leija

Typology

Residential

Date

2021 - 2023

Landscape Architect

Falon Land Studio

General Contractor

Heavenly Homes

Photography

Leonid Furmansky

Process

Explore

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.

Casey Pavek

Culture and Community

In this episode, our resident architects Joe Rivers and Kevin Barden sit down with Casey Pavek, a bicycle mechanic from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Casey Pavek is a general manager and lead bicycle mechanic at Venture North, a coffee and bike shop located in North Minneapolis. Joe and Kevin sat down with Casey to discuss adapting a bike shop to fitting a community's needs and the positive impact that a bike shop brings.

Staff Travel: Mexico City

Writing

Over the past few years, Esmer has made multiple trips to Mexico City. She had the opportunity to visit The Pyramids of Teotihuacan, La Casa Azul de Frida Kahlo and the first Latin-American Architecture Exhibition of Zaha Hadid’s work. The following is a reflective essay of her travels.