Alterstudio Architecture: The Highland Park residence offers a counter proposal to the contemporary Tudor mansions and French chateaus of this tony Dallas neighborhood. On a property without any significant natural features or trees, and neighbors looming on either side, the three-level design creates an extraordinary environment for family and art. Here, an incredible new landscape disguises the garage and is an invitation to occupy in new and unexpected ways. An unadulterated limestone bar hovers precariously at the building line, bends to define a private setting, and cantilevers 35 feet at the entry. A separate gallery building supports this private milieu behind, and provides a carefully calibrated setting for a significant rotating collection of art. A low berm of rocks planted with native grasses, cactuses, and shrubs separates the residence from the street.
A series of expectations are created from the outset, and unanticipated spaces unfold as the visitor meanders through the property. Inside, one is alternatively drawn horizontally into the landscape and further into the art-filled house; the double-height living room is carved into the stone bar above providing a space of unexpected volume, while curved glass panels and enormous retracting glass doors encourage the transition through the building into the landscape. Raw and refined finishes are paired ubiquitously, with mill-finished steel abutting carefully composed Indiana limestone panels, and custom, hand-made tile and glazed volcanic stones from Guadalajara coupling with refined walnut cabinetry and stainless-steel fixtures. Circulation on the ground floor occurs along the window walls, emphasizing connections to nature; a 40-foot-long wall of sliding glass doors opens the double-height living-dining room to the rear garden, which features a set of monumental concrete terraces. The kitchen and breakfast room are located at the juncture of the front yard, side alley, and courtyard garden. Private quarters are located upstairs, where a long gallery separates children’s rooms from the primary suite.
A separate, single-story, ivy-covered structure houses the gallery, gallery office, and a pool cabana and guest suite. Inside, the 14-foot-tall, 1,100-square-foot gallery stands in contrast to the rich materiality and textures of the house and grounds. Here, the space is abstract and focused on presenting art, featuring concrete floors, stark white walls and a set of three large skylights.
Impeccably detailed throughout, the large, 12,398-square-foot home provides both a tangible material presence and an abstract ground against which the vicissitudes of nature, art and social occasion are highlighted.
