Champions Golf Pavilion
Located along the golf side of the existing clubhouse, the design respects and resonates with the existing architectural language on the property, while amplifying and adding to the experience of club.
The project directly responds to the existing colonnades and outdoor walkways around the property instead of imposing a new “form” or “style” onto the clubhouse.
By extending this elegant, architectural language from the Cypress bar, the patio’s quiet presence feels as if it was always intended to be there. The design thoughtfully utilizes the shade from two large existing trees, while maintaining the views of the golf course from the main dining room.
The structure employs an 8’ grid, matching the existing colonnades and facades. The brick pavers and roof both follow the grid, but they do not follow each other. The patio unfolds into the landscape organically and offers both covered and uncovered spaces to enjoy throughout different seasons and times of day.
Location
Houston, Texas
Collaboration
WAL studio
Design Team
Alex Warr, Joe Rivers, and Kevin Barden
Typology
Commercial
Date
2022- 2023
Structural and Civil Engineer
Sarab Engineering
General Contractor
Texana Builders
Photography
Leonid Furmansky
Process
Explore
Geodesic Dome Renovation
Minnetonka, Minnesota
Residential
This renovation transforms a 1980s geodesic dome, originally conceived during the height of the energy crisis, into a bright, connected, and contemporary home. A new primary suite frames views of the surrounding forest, while an open kitchen maintains visual and acoustic connection to the living and dining areas. Fresh finishes throughout renew the interior without erasing its character.
Peter Molick
Photographer
Art and Design
In this episode our resident architects Joe Rivers and Kevin Barden visit with Peter Molick, an architectural photographer from Houston, Texas. Peter Molick's work as an architectural photographer has him capturing on film life's many varied spaces. His portfolio runs the gambit from new construction homes, office buildings, and museums, to a clothing store, a music hall, and even a stadium. But we really wanted to visit with Pete to discuss a work of his that he did outside of professional output. The piece, called Crossings, has been showing since May at the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale, the most influential exhibition in architecture. Joe and Kevin talk with Pete about his craft as an architectural photographer, what drove him to create Crossings, and the future of his career and creative outlets.
Ethos
Kevin Barden and Joe Rivers
Writing
In an essay entitled The Hedgehog and the Fox, Isaiah Berlin quotes the Greek poet Archilochus, “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing” (Berlin 7). The essay was written as a commentary on Leo Tolstoy’s view of history, however, the text can offer an understanding for how one might practice architecture as well. For us, this understanding reveals itself in perceiving the environment as a fox and believing in it as a hedgehog.