Team Scores Points with Hill Country Design
By Kevin Phinney
Special Sections Writer, Austin-American Statesman
Photography by Clay Walls
If designer Francois Levy knows anything, it’s how to adapt. Take, for example, the Northwest Austin home he and Mark Winford have designed as part of the architectural firm known as Studio Mosaic. Their first sketches have been praised, approved, revised, improvised upon and altered enough times that, for a lesser talent, there might be little of the original design remaining.
“That’s what makes it interesting to me,” says Levy. “I like to work in a collaborative environment. Don’t get me wrong; it would probably drive some people crazy. I know that to do this work well, you have to have a certain amount of ego. But it also helps to recognize the other person may actually have a better idea. “
Unlike most designers, Levy works on every project in collaboration with Winford. The results are complementary, highly creative and utterly unique.
We’re like Lennon and McCartney,” Levy says with a grin, “except that they occasionally did things by themselves when they were partners. We create each design together and it’s a real back-and-forth kind of thing. Ultimately, though, we’re both always pleased with the results.”
The home in the shadow of Mt. Bonnell is no exception. Strolling the property, Levy points to an other home nearby that sits parallel to the horizon-atop a huge concrete slab to keep it Ievel on the sloping hillside. “There’s nothing wrong with the house per se,” he says, shrugging, “except that it doesn’t take the topography into consideration at all. We tried to be responsive to the landscape, and you can see how differently this plan has come together.”
At the outset, the Studio Mosaic team was faced with a very narrow strip of property, sloping away and down a steep hill. In this case, the designers were approached by the builders, who approved their plan before a buyer stepped in to sign a contract to purchase.
“We decided to have the house follow the landscape, and tried to pick materials that would be congruent with the natural surroundings,” Levy says.
“We also decided to push the house to the far side of lot so that instead of having a tiny yard surrounding the house, there would be more room for landscaping on one side.”
The walkway to the home is overlooked by an entry tower of concrete block slurried over with mortar, which closely resembles limestone. A decorative cedar pattern provides an open-air roof to the structure, offering more shade than protection from the elements. The remaining exterior is comprised of stucco and wrought iron accents, and sheet metal roofing.
Through the gate, Levy gestures at the large windows and cascading steps that lead down to the front door.
“Light is problematic in Texas, because it brings so much heat with it,” he says. “So we’ve sheltered the home from direct sunlight and yet it still looks so open that you don’t feel claustrophobic.”
The walkway yields to a series of larger landings, until at the bottom, there’s room for outdoor tables and chairs to entertain in relative privacy.
Indoors, the view is just as refreshing. An open-slatted pine staircase rests to the left of the front door. To the right is the spacious sunken living room with its stone tile surround fireplace and white oak floors. Behind the staircase on the main level is a door to the garage. Adjacent is a kitchen with all the modern amenities, including granite splashes and see-through cabinets for dishes.
“Since the buyer signed on early in the process, there are elements here that neither Mark nor I had in mind at first; things that weren’t the builders’ ideas either,” Levy says. “And I believe that adds to the overall flavor of the place.”
Upstairs, Levy shows off a bath and a pair of guest bedrooms, each with doors that function more as windows with balconies so shallow they might be confused with window sills. The master bedroom, located far above the kitchen, looks out through similar doors to the living area sprawling below. The master bath has a relaxing ambiance- and features slate tile, another choice made by the buyer.
“It’s definitely the result of a lot of strong minds at work,” Levy concludes. “I guess you’d call it ‘contemporary Texan’, because it does take the environment into consideration, but in terms of shape and form, it doesn’t refer to a style so much as it reflects skill and imagination.”
While at the AIA National Convention, I gave presentations of a project of mine at the Nemetschek North America booth. They are the makers of Vectorworks, an outstanding design application for Mac and Windows. A buzzword these day in the practice of architecture (and other building professions) is BIM: building information modeling. Continue reading 
