Construction Monthly Magazine | Houston 2021 Build Expo Show Edition

THE PRESTON
HOLLOW HOME
By Specht Architects
The award winning residence (Architectural Record –
Record House and AIA Austin Design Award of Merit)
was completed in December of 2019. The design of
Specht’s Preston Hollow 8,000 square foot house was
driven by the desire to blur the lines between inside
and outside while providing a sense of privacy and
seclusion from the street and surrounding neighborhood,
at the homeowners request. Its design is influenced by
strategies common to classic Dallas modern homes of the
1950’s and ‘60’s.
Heavy cast-concrete walls extend from the interior of the
house out into the landscape, breaking the “modern box”
and creating courtyards that allow for a bright, naturefilled
view from every room. This effect is complemented
by the huge glass walls that define each space. A large,
floating, pavilion roof hovers over both the interior
and exterior rooms, defining a special “living precinct”
in the site and further fragmenting the boundary
between interior and exterior. The roof shape and large
cantilevered overhangs were carefully configured to
provide complete shading from the harsh Dallas sun at all
times of day. An “Impluvium” or opening in the center of
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the roof is modeled on those found in traditional Roman
houses and allows rainwater and light to reach the garden
below. Flowing water plays a large part in the design as
well. Beginning at the entry, a narrow channel courses
through the site and to the pool beyond. The stream is
punctuated by a series of cascading terraces and a gentle
waterfall near the main entry. At night, lighting within the
water casts changing patterns on the adjacent textured
concrete surfaces.
A NEW BRUTALISM
The concrete walls in the Preston Hollow house were
cast using custom-fabricated formwork that creates a
corrugated appearance. “This technique, a staple of
brutalist architecture from the 1960’s and ‘70’s creates a
play of shadows and pattern that changes throughout the
day. Unlike the brutalist work from that era, however, the
heavy walls here are countered by delicate steel columns,
thin window frames, and the hovering cantilevered edges
of the roof. The concrete is a grounding element that
provides a contrast to the overall lightness of the spaces,”
says Scott Specht, founder Specht Architects.
TRADITIONS OF DALLAS MODERNISM
Dallas has a long tradition of modern architecture that
faded for decades and is now experiencing a resurgence.
The home sites of Central Dallas, which are urban,
relatively dense, and close to the city center, have