Glenn Layton Homes, LLC, "Building Your Coastal Lifestyle"

Custom Built home designed to fit on an undesirable lot provided a great opportunity to think outside of the box with creating a large open concept living space with a kitchen, dining room, living room, and sitting area. This space has extra high ceilings with concrete radiant heat flooring and custom IKEA cabinetry throughout. The master suite sits tucked away on one side of the house while the other bedrooms are upstairs with a large flex space, great for a kids play area!

Photo credit: Eric Soltan - www.ericsoltan.com

Sam Martin - 4 Walls Media

Photo Credit: Susan Teare

Designed as gallery, studio, and residence for an artist, this house takes inspiration from the owner’s love of cubist art. The program includes an upper level studio with ample north light, access to outdoor decks to the north and south, which offer panoramic views of East Austin. A gallery is housed on the main floor. A cool, monochromatic palette and spare aesthetic defines interior and exterior, schewing, at the owner’s request, any warming elements to provide a neutral backdrop for her art collection. Thus, finishes were selected to recede as well as for their longevity and low life scycle costs. Stair rails are steel, floors are sealed concrete and the base trim clear aluminum. Where walls are not exposed CMU, they are painted white. By design, the fireplace provides a singular source of warmth, the gas flame emanating from a bed of crushed glass, surrounded on three sides by a polished concrete hearth.

The Twin Peaks Passive House + ADU was designed and built to remain resilient in the face of natural disasters. Fortunately, the same great building strategies and design that provide resilience also provide a home that is incredibly comfortable and healthy while also visually stunning. This home’s journey began with a desire to design and build a house that meets the rigorous standards of Passive House. Before beginning the design/ construction process, the homeowners had already spent countless hours researching ways to minimize their global climate change footprint. As with any Passive House, a large portion of this research was focused on building envelope design and construction. The wall assembly is combination of six inch Structurally Insulated Panels (SIPs) and 2x6 stick frame construction filled with blown in insulation. The roof assembly is a combination of twelve inch SIPs and 2x12 stick frame construction filled with batt insulation. The pairing of SIPs and traditional stick framing allowed for easy air sealing details and a continuous thermal break between the panels and the wall framing. Beyond the building envelope, a number of other high performance strategies were used in constructing this home and ADU such as: battery storage of solar energy, ground source heat pump technology, Heat Recovery Ventilation, LED lighting, and heat pump water heating technology. In addition to the time and energy spent on reaching Passivhaus Standards, thoughtful design and carefully chosen interior finishes coalesce at the Twin Peaks Passive House + ADU into stunning interiors with modern farmhouse appeal. The result is a graceful combination of innovation, durability, and aesthetics that will last for a century to come. Despite the requirements of adhering to some of the most rigorous environmental standards in construction today, the homeowners chose to certify both their main home and their ADU to Passive House Standards. From a meticulously designed building envelope that tested at 0.62 ACH50, to the extensive solar array/ battery bank combination that allows designated circuits to function, uninterrupted for at least 48 hours, the Twin Peaks Passive House has a long list of high performance features that contributed to the completion of this arduous certification process. The ADU was also designed and built with these high standards in mind. Both homes have the same wall and roof assembly ,an HRV, and a Passive House Certified window and doors package. While the main home includes a ground source heat pump that warms both the radiant floors and domestic hot water tank, the more compact ADU is heated with a mini-split ductless heat pump. The end result is a home and ADU built to last, both of which are a testament to owners’ commitment to lessen their impact on the environment.

This master bath radiates a sense of tranquility that can best be described as serene. This master retreat boasts a walnut double vanity, free-standing bath tub, concrete flooring and sunk-in shower with frameless glass enclosure. Simple and thoughtful accents blend seamlessly and create a spa-like feel.

Level Two: High-gloss, cherry wood cabinets echo the adjoining master bedroom's cherry wood ceiling, lending warmth to the room, along with elegant Murano glass pendants. Photograph © Darren Edwards, San Diego

Modern bathroom, black metal accent, integrated LED

Whilst the site was a good size for the building, the working area was tight due to the very steep slope and limited access. Therefore, to minimise construction costs RRA designed the replacement dwelling to use the existing building footprint and foundations, and kept the ridge height the same as the existing house. The garage became part of the main house using a small link and a subterranean level with additional parking was excavated. This strategy resulting in no negative visual impact to the views of surrounding buildings whilst enabling a significant increase to the floor area. Extensive glazing was used strategically to benefit from the stunning views over Cheltenham whilst also allowing the building to fully utilise the solar gain to heat the house. Balcony areas have been added to offer the inhabitants outdoor space, other than the garden, from which to enjoy the views. Central to the building is the large kitchen area which links several areas of the house. This features a central void space to a large rooflight positioned to increase the natural light within the deepest part of the building. In order to integrate the contemporary style into the natural surroundings a pallette of render, Cedar Cladding, Local Stone and Powder Coated Aluminium Windows was employed. Externally the use of solar powered, low-level lighting, illuminates the access forecourt for safety, without causing excessive light pollution.