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1973 West Gray St Ste 13
Houston, TX 77019

713.529.9933

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© Murphy Mears Architects 2022

Sabine Street Cottages

Two Single-Family Residences | Houston, TX | 2014

| Preservation Houston: 2016 Good Brick Award Winner|
| Rice Design Alliance: Spring 2015 Architecture Tour |
| Houston AIA Design Awards 2015: Winner, Renovation/Restoration |

Rear courtyard for the new cottage shaded by a large 200-year-old oak tree.

 


 

Two residences create an enclave on a previously vacant lot in Houston’s Old Sixth Ward. A relocated and renovated 1870’s Gothic Revival home is located along the street front, and a small new home is located in the back. While the homes are organized together as a communal master plan, each has the flexibility to be used as a separate residence with private access.

The renovated structure was purchased at auction, in a state of disrepair, and moved from its then home in the downtown police station parking lot, where it was used primarily as a storage shed, to this property. The building was originally constructed in 1872 by Gottlieb Eisele, a local carpenter and contractor, as his residence. The Gottlieb Eisele house was carefully renovated to its original exterior appearance based on a surviving photo of the original structure. The interior was opened up and reconfigured to allow the building to function as a home again.

The new one-story residence in the back of the property is configured around a new tree-lined autocourt and a rear lawn shaded by a 200-year-old Live Oak. As a response to the scale of neighborhood structures, the home is broken down into three small wings, each under a traditional metal gable roof: a small work studio, a living-dining-kitchen area, and a bedroom wing. Spaces within are vaulted and open towards the front and back courtyards. The new residence is built with autoclaved-aerated-concrete-block (AAC), providing an efficient and durable structure that will provide a comfortable environment in the hot-humid Houston climate.

While the homes were originally conceived 140 years apart from one another, they now coexist to create an environment that honors the scale and the history of this historic neighborhood in the shadow of downtown.

More information on the Gottlieb Eisele House, from Swamplot.

Original property divided into two, with a renovated 1870's cottage in front, and newly constructed cottage in back.

 


 

New Cottage
1,966 sq ft Residence | 317 sq ft Workshop

Path to the front entry of the new cottage, through a tree-lined gravel front court.

 

Vaulted interior space in the living-dining-kitchen wing of the new cottage.

 

Front court of the new cottage with metal gable roofs over each of the three main wings.

 

Doors and windows open to the front and back courtyards on each side of the living-dining-kitchen space.

 


 

Gottlieb Eisele Cottage
989 sq ft

Restored exterior of the 1870's Gottlieb Eisele house, with a similar roof line on the new cottage visible beyond.

 

Renovated interior of the 1870's Gottlieb Eisele house, with the original end-wall finish revealed and the ceilings newly opened up.

New kitchen area within the renovated interior of the 1870's Gottlieb Eisele house, with the original end-wall finish revealed.