“In Texas, when it rains, it pours,” says architect Cotton Estes. This suburban house for a young couple (one is a hydrologist) is designed and engineered to capture those downpours (up to the 500-year storm volume), use the water for the house, and then filter it back into the Honey Creek watershed—cleaner than when it fell from the clouds.
The long, sloped roof will channel water through a single large gutter into a 40,000‑gallon, board-formed concrete cistern at the low end of the slope. After use in the house, filtered water will irrigate the garden before returning to its natural path.
The entire house is geared toward immersion in nature, with extensive indoor/outdoor areas that harness views and cooling breezes. “The house is right on the edge of several HOAs in a dense suburb of Austin,” says Cotton. “But our building is a threshold to this incredibly natural and private overlook.”
A solar array will help the house meet net-positive energy goals, and the compact floor plan will flex for future needs—visiting guests from overseas or a growing family in the future. Not only were our judges swayed by the thoughtful, earth-friendly plan for the house, they were also very taken by the architect’s careful and artful presentation of the ideas behind the house: “I love this,” said one judge. “This was a very well put together presentation.”
Citation
Custom on the Boards
Cotton Estes Architect
Honey Creek Farm
Lakeway, Texas
Project Credits
Architect: Cotton Estes Architect, San Antonio
Builder: Nick Ryza, BuildNative, Austin, Texas
Cistern: Bowerbird Construction, Dripping Springs, Texas
Project Size: 1,750 square feet
Site Size: 2.65 acres
Key Products
Cabinetry/Vanities: Ikea with Kokeena custom faces
Cladding: Thermally treated Scots pine by Thermory
Cooktop: Fisher & Paykel
Dishwasher: Blomberg
Entry Doors/Windows: Weather Shield
Faucets: Kohler, Delta
Humidity Control: Ultra Aire by Santa Fe Dehumidifier
HVAC: Mitsubishi
Ovens: Bosch
Paints: Benjamin Moore
Railings: AGS Stainless
Refrigerator/Freezer: Sub-Zero
Roofing: Berridge standing seam roof, Carlisle Residential Membrane Roofs
Thermal/Moisture Barrier: Korwall Industries SIP roof
Underlayment/Sheathing: Huber ZIP System
Water Treatment System: Orenco Advanced Wastewater Treatment
Window Wall Systems: Arcadia thermally broken aluminum sliders
Wine Refrigeration: Summit