Ramsey Residence – Modern Small House Design With Wood and Limestone in Austin, Texas

The Ramsey Residence contemplates a simple plan in an exuberant manner. An orthogonally refined frontage composing spatial depth and materiality is capped by a sharply projected eave. This cues the organization of the home along a tall, clerestory-lit spine running the length of the home. A formal entry and foyer lead to the main living room and spacious kitchen flanking the axis. Support spaces are discretely tucked away to allow marble slab and wood trim finishes to delineate the spaces. The axis continues as a tall glazed corridor cleaving two outdoor courtyards: ‘fire’ for entertainment, and ‘water’ for contemplation. Private spaces depart the axis to resolve the ensemble with the same attention to material detail and spatial poise as discovered upon first sight.

The Ramsey Residence was conceived as the diagrammatic intersection of dialectical program elements in both the interior and exterior. The spaces are split between a public area, closer to the street, and a private area, towards the rear of the lot. They are connected by a circulation spine: a tall southern lit clerestory gallery.

The gallery is flanked by oppositional outdoor spaces, one characterized by a constructed ground plane intended for cooking, herb gardening and socializing; the other is characterized by landscape and permeable surfaces punctuated by a central water feature.

A sectional diagram manipulated across the length of the house defines varied spaces for inhabitation, alternating between double height, clerestory lit spaces and modest transitional zones where lower ceilings allow for the routing of building services. Natural daylighting, material cues and art elements provide a second layer of hierarchy to the procession through interior spaces.


Architecture & Interiors: Clark | Richardson Architects – http://www.clarkrichardson.com/
Location: Austin, Texas, United States
Landscape Design: Open Envelope Studio
Builder: Magnum Builders
Year: 2020
Photography: Chase Daniels – https://www.chasedaniel.co/