University Park Modern Luxury Mansion

Our Inwood National Bank Home of the Week is a modern luxury mansion in University Park, designed by award-winning commercial architect Edwin Brantley Smith. Created for his family, 3412 Wentwood Drive was one of the first cutting-edge, modern homes in the Park Cities.

I’ve said it many times and I’ll say it again. If you ever have the opportunity to own a home an architect has designed for himself, jump on it! An architect has all the resources and knows the best way to create optimum value in a home without sacrificing beauty or architectural integrity.

I must have passed by the house hundreds of times since it was built in 2002 and it has always captured my attention. Remember, 15 years ago University Park did not have anything like this modern luxury mansion. Talk about ahead of the proverbial curve. I just knew someone cool had to be behind it, and of course, I was right.

Edwin Brantley Smith has been building architecturally significant structures all over America for 21 years. When it came to designing a home for his family, he incorporated commercial elements into the construction, creating what is essentially a commercial-grade contemporary residence. What that means to a buyer is that he has gone above and beyond what most modern luxury mansions can offer.

Let’s start with the exterior of this 5,954-square-foot home. We see limestone facades all the time. What we don’t see is a home with the perimeter entirely encased in a limestone skin. This offers temperature control you just can’t get any other way. Limestone breathes with the seasons. If it’s hot outside, it stays cool inside, and in the winter the limestone allows for heat retention.

Every window was designed for solar optimization, and he built to LEED standards six years before they existed for residential properties.

“He designed this home with a great deal of passion and integrity to operate with ultimate efficiency for his family and for entertaining,” Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s listing agent Jean Bateman said. Bateman has the home listed for $2.995 million.

He also designed it to be a great family home. There are four bedrooms, five bathrooms, two powder baths, and a three-car garage — certainly important in the Park Cities where parking is at a premium.

The third level of the home is one large room that was the family hangout during the years their children were growing up. A kitchenette and bathroom on this level mean the kids may never make it to the first floor, now that’s a bonus!

From an entertaining standpoint, it’s hard to beat this modern luxury mansion. The main living area is 35 by 27 feet with 24-foot ceilings. This is a space made for parties.

If you prefer outdoor entertaining, you’ll be in heaven.

“Most people design their homes to sit on the back patio and look out from the home, Bateman said. “You look towards the back of another house or at power lines. He designed this house so you sit in the back area and look towards the house and incorporated a cook station into the area.”

Genius.

A stunning pool backs up to a soaring 62-year-old Live Oak tree the owners have named Elwood.

What more could you ask for? An architecturally significant home built to LEED standards with a tree named Elwood.

I’m sold.

Karen Eubank is the owner of Eubank Staging and Design. She has been an award-winning professional home stager for more than 25 years. She’s been a professional writer for 20 years. Karen is the mother of a son who’s studying music at The University of Miami. An ardent animal lover, she doesn’t mind one bit if your fur baby jumps right into her lap. Find Karen at www.eubankstaging.com