Tierra de Paz playfully flips the courtyard concept of the nearby historic Spanish colonial missions. Four flat-roofed bedroom and office volumes rotate around a soaring, skylit main living area, each of them separated by patios facing the four cardinal directions. The resulting light from all sides, along with earthy yet austere materials, gives this living space the sense of an open-air pavilion. Its western red cedar ceiling rests lightly on plastered walls, recalling the mission outposts’ masonry walls and lightweight roofs.
“One of the most rewarding aspects was the skill of craftsmen we were able to engage on the plaster work, custom light fixtures, carpentry and ceiling, and floor,” says Cotton Estes, AIA. “We experimented with casting larger aggregate pieces of limestone and exposing them in the slab finish. It brings a lot of nuance and life to otherwise simple planar forms.”
Our judges praised the “inventive plan, which was very well presented; they brought us along with their drawings and diagrams.” The panel also applauded its “uber-crisp, minimalist detailing. It is completely recognizable as vernacular and completely minimalist with its knife-edge materials,” a judge said. “A lot of people could be comfortable in this sort of domestic environment, even though it’s pushing a lot.”
Citation · Architectural Interiors
Tierra de Paz by Cotton Estes Architect
San Antonio, Texas
Project Credits
Architect: Cotton Estes, AIA, Cotton Estes Architect, San Antonio, Texas
Builder: Long House Builders, San Antonio
Landscape architect: Justin Davidson, La Paz Landscape, San Antonio
Structural engineer: Spaulding Structural Engineering, San Antonio
Project size: 2,240 square feet
Site size: 2.29 acres
Construction cost: Withheld
Photography: Dror Baldinger, FAIA
Key Products
Cabinetry hardware: Emtek, Richelieu
Cladding: Western red cedar, U-Stucco
Cooking ventilation: Bosch
Cooktop: Bosch induction
Countertop: Daltile, Lueders limestone
Entry doors: Weathershield
Exterior lighting: Schmidt Ceramics + Woodworks
Faucets: Grohe, Waterworks, Hansgrohe
Finishes: Emil Group, bathroom floors and walls
HVAC systems: Trane, American Standard
Icemaker: Scotsman
Insulation: Sto Corp., Carlisle Syntec
Interior lighting: Noguchi, Kuzco, WAC, Juno, Zuzko, Schmit Ceramics + Woodworks
Ovens: Bosch
Paints/stains/coatings: Benjamin Moore, Bona, Vasari plaster Carrera White Sand
Passage door hardware: Omnia, Casson
Refrigerator/freezer: Fisher Paykel
Roof windows: Velux Skylights
Roofing: Berridge Manufacturing Company
Sinks: Ruvati, Scarabeo, Kohler
Thermal and moisture barriers: Huber Products, Sto Corp.
Toilets: Duravit
Ventilation: Panasonic
Window shading systems: TekTrim
Wine and beverage center: N’Finity
Wine refrigerator: Bosch