Pavilion House

This project is a rural retreat for a semi-retired couple, east of Austin. The property is lightly wooded Texas grassland. The conversation around this project always centered around the word Cabin, and the owners imagined a cozy, private series of spaces to retreat to, to seek refuge from the city and its bustle. The spaces should be inward-looking, but connected to nature. They wanted a minimal, modern decor, but they also needed space to honor and display personal treasures.

Our solution was to craft a series of 14’ square pavilions, clad in wood, with a custom X-truss and a butterfly roof (for rain catchment), and cluster them around a limestone hallway, which would house their objets d’art.

Each pavilion has a three-sided clerestory that points each space definitively toward the sky and the tree canopies above. The clear feeling of being inside is only heightened by moments where one feels a strong sense of “next-to” these pavilions, such as the mudroom or courtyard.

This interplay between secluded, sheltered inside and wandering around these objects in the landscape is our way of approximating what it means to escape, to seek refuge, while also providing the perfect place for that escape.