• About
  • Projects
  • Publications
  • Recognition
  • Contact
  • Career Opportunities
© Murphy Mears Architects 2022

Courtyard House

Single-Family Residence | Houston, TX | 2015

Courtyard House - Street-front wing of the house with the main entry facing the street and the adjacent 1-story study overlooking the pool.

 

 

Courtyard House

The joining of two lots in one of Houston’s most historic neighborhoods presents an opportunity to rethink open space. Rather than locating front and back yards on opposite sides of the house, which places much of the North yard in shadow, first and second floor rooms are instead arranged around the perimeter of the property to clear a large central sunlit space for pool, terrace and landscaping. More than offering vistas to trees, greater open space provides flexibility, and more daylight. The extra width at the street allows for more distance between guests arriving at the front door and the owners’ gated entrance to the three-car garage. Including the gravel drive in the open space makes it possible to consider it part of the garden, able to be screened to maximize the impact of separating the drive from the house. The house is linked to the garage and quarters by a covered Family Room porch that overlooks the pool.

The path to the front door leads through an elevated garden. Setting the front of the house back from the street behind the garden creates a sense of procession while also facilitating a direct connection to the pool. The room closest to the Entry, the one story Study with a vaulted beamed ceiling has daylight entering from a pool facing window, windows looking to the street and French doors that lead to the gravel Terrace.

The exterior walls are stucco over steel-reinforced load-bearing aerated concrete block (AAC). First floor steel doors are Hope’s. Second floor windows are metal-clad wood. The roof is slate. Interior light fixtures include custom made pendants designed by the owner and interior designer, fabricated from blades taken from a farmer’s plow in Fredericksburg. We anticipate that as trees and garden around the pool mature, the light will become increasingly filtered and the environment even more inviting.

Courtyard House - Site Plan showing the public entry and private drive separated on opposite sides of the site by a central outdoor space.

 

 

Courtyard House - Private auto-gate and driveway along the East edge of the property, at the opposite end from the main front door.

 

 

Courtyard House - Solid wood front entry door accessed from a raised front garden.

 

Courtyard House - Looking East from the living room, to the main central outdoor space, including the terrace, pool and landscaped lawn.

 

Courtyard House - Looking North along the main corridor from front entry to back of house, with sunlight/shadows cast through the steel and glass trellis over the living room french doors.

Courtyard House - 1-story vaulted study with windows and doors overlooking the central outdoor space.

 

Courtyard House - Looking West from within the living room, to a linear garden along the West side of the property.

 

Courtyard House - Looking South along the main corridor, with morning light cast through steel windows and doors.

Courtyard House - Late afternoon light entering the stairway over the top of the 1-story butler's pantry and wine room beyond.

 

Courtyard House - Looking through preserved oak trees, across the large central lawn, towards the pool, terrace and house beyond.

 

Courtyard House - Early site plan studies exploring master plan options for the selection and phasing of two out of three available lots.