AIA Dallas Hosts Hybrid In-Person, Virtual Home Tour Oct. 23-24
Share News:
From Staff Reports
The AIA Dallas Tour of Homes, Dallas’ only citywide home tour and the area’s only tour curated exclusively by architects, is back Saturday and Sunday, October 23-24.
This is the 15th anniversary of the tour, and this milestone year features geographic expansion of homes outside of Dallas, including a home in Denton and one outside of Tyler.
“AIA Dallas celebrates the beauty and diversity of architecture in Texas homes,” says Michael Malone, FAIA, committee co-chair and founding principal at Malone Maxwell Dennehy Architects. “This year’s collection features diverse housing options in terms of style and size; including contemporary, modern, rustic-modern, historic renovation, eclectic and industrial styles.”
The Tour of Homes showcases the work of our city’s talented architects, highlighting innovative and outstanding residential design. This year’s tour will feature groundbreaking homes in Preston Hollow, Oak Cliff, Lake Highlands, Lakewood, Turtle Creek, and, for the first time ever, in Denton and East Texas.
After COVID-19 pushed all tours virtual last year, 2021 will feature a carefully executed return to in-person tours as well as virtual options. Seven homes will be in-person only, two will be virtual, and one in Denton will have hybrid options (both in-person and virtual).
The three virtual tours include Five House (a rustic-modern pool casita in Denton), Sugar Creek (a modern home in a wooded setting outside of Tyler featuring a new commissioned sculpture by award-winning Dallas photographer and architect Craig D. Blackmon, FAIA), and Gold Crest (a high rise on Turtle Creek Boulevard, whose original design was by notable Dallas architect George Dahl). Virtual tickets will consist of digital access to these three homes, with an hour-long video walk-through led by the architects.
The in-person tours feature a sustainable home on Stonegate Road pursuing quadruple energy and green building certifications, and producing five to seven times more energy than is being consumed, a historic renovation of a farmhouse on Kessler Parkway, a 6,000-square-foot home in Preston Hollow, and many more.
The self-guided tour spans Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 23-24, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. A variety of ticketing options are available: Tour tickets are $45 for the in-person-only tours and $45 for the three virtual tours. A combined all-access pass to all 10 homes (in-person and virtual) is $75. Tickets are on sale now at www.hometourdallas.com.
The separately ticketed Premiere Party is the Thursday before the tour (October 21) and is held at a Forest Hills home that is not on the tour. Tickets are $125 and include passed hors d’oeuvres, open bar, meet-and-greets with the tour architects at the Premiere Party, and a combined in-person and virtual ticket to the tour. CandysDirt.com will be hosting a ticket giveaway for Premier Party and AIA Dallas Tour of Homes access, so stay tuned!
Ticket holders will receive access through an app to plan a richer event experience and enjoy the content at their fingertips while touring, including maps, images, insights from tour architects, access to the virtual tours, photos, videos, and extra content. The week before the event, the addresses for the homes will be available on www.hometourdallas.com and on the app.
Here’s a preview of the homes on tour this year:
Bon Aire Drive
Architect: Zero 3 Design
The Bon Aire Residence in Old Lake Highlands is not the typical house. This home is the result of over eight years of collaboration between architect and homeowner scouring around Round Top, Texas, in search of one-of-a-kind treasures.
The home is designed for the lifestyle of the homeowners. It is firmly seeded in history, architectural artifacts and materials, bright and vibrant colors and textures, love of nature and plants, and vintage war memorabilia and muscle cars. Throughout the house are architectural artifacts — doors, windows, columns, corbels, shutters, and light fixtures — some used for their intended purposes and others repurposed to meet a new need. These artifacts, combined with contemporary construction techniques, make the Bon Aire Residence comfortable and modern, yet full of historical references and materials that make a perfect backdrop for the homeowners and their hobbies, collections, and passions.
Five House
Architect: M Gooden Design
Five House is an accessory dwelling that embraces the historic midcentury modern main residence on the property, originally built in 1949. The two structures are connected by entertainment decks and a linear pool. The living room and kitchen open directly onto the pool terrace, providing a cabana-like experience. Operable louvers and shades can be used to create a more private experience.
The pitched ceilings and clerestory windows create an open and comfortable experience. Simplicity of form, complementary proportions, and planning efficiency were primary objectives for the design concept. The dwelling is designed on a strict five-foot planning grid, which is how its name was derived: Five House.
Gold Crest
Architect: WELCH | HALL Architects
Originally designed by noted Dallas architect George Dahl, the Gold Crest is one of the most architecturally significant buildings on Turtle Creek Boulevard. The fourth-floor residence takes its design inspiration from the historic 1965 high-rise that houses it.
The apartment is just above the tree line with a northeast exposure and a view of the Turtle Creek Parkway, the Uptown skyline, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Kalita Humphreys | Dallas Theater Center. The building’s wraparound balconies provide a connection to the outdoors from every apartment.
The renovation stripped the unit down to its original state to allow for maximum use of the overall volume. The minimal material palette features oak flooring, cypress millwork, white walls, and sheer fabric along the perimeter glass. An accent wall off the main living space contains the same ledgestone used on the original exterior of the 1965 building. The owner’s collections of art, books, and furniture were integrated into the home; the library runs the length of the space, passing through four rooms. A continuous mirrored band above reflects the outdoors, blurring the line between actual and perceived space.
Kessler Parkway
Architect: WELCH | HALL Architects
This small simple farmhouse, moved to its current site in 1940 in the Kessler area of Oak Cliff, was run-down and in need of new life. It sits alone, across Kessler Parkway from the rest of the neighborhood, at the foot of the Coombs Creek Trail, tucked into the greenbelt, under the trees, barely beyond the shadows of Interstate 30. The home is a blend of styles, with Texas Regional Vernacular features but officially designated as a Colonial Revival. Despite its historic nature, the home has many commonalities with Modernism.
The restoration process required taking the structure down to the studs and adding all-new systems and finishes. The exterior is a simple board and batten siding painted white, with a double gable roof and two porches, front and rear. The design is simple, honest, and in keeping with the character of the original architecture. The same restraint is applied to the interior, letting the simple aesthetic of craft provide a backdrop for the owner’s collection of Scandinavian and Japanese furnishings.
Lyre Lane
Architect: James E. Manning Architect
A home should not only function but also let the owners appreciate where they live. Sunlight fills the kitchen, a gurgling creek can be heard from the bedroom, and the patio embraces the shade of the old cottonwood. The Lyre Lane Residence blurs the separation between inside and outside. It focuses inward with a private courtyard entry, the centerpiece of which is a mature Japanese maple original to the site. The shared spaces face the back of the lot, toward the creek, and are screened from view from the street.
Located in Lakewood, the home is on a corner lot with mature trees, and its sloping site enables the house to appear to be one story in the front, in keeping with its neighborhood, but allows for a garage and a bonus room to be on a lower level.
Manett Street
Architect: Modern Living Dwellings
The Manett Townhomes are in the Knox-Henderson neighborhood. Their contemporary style provides a well-balanced transition between the commercial area to the south and residential neighborhood to the north. They offer the residents a comfortable, casual, upscale live/work environment. The linear layout maximizes views and natural lighting, bringing the outdoors in.
The townhomes feature museum-quality walls and strategic lighting to highlight the owners’ art. They are wired for state-of-the-art home automation and AV technology. Warm materials temper the minimalist contemporary detailing to provide an inviting, livable home.
Stonegate Residence
Architect: PM-AD
Completed in 2020, the Stonegate Residence is an energy-positive ranch-style home producing five times more energy than it consumes. Sustainability was the primary consideration during design and construction, and the project is pursuing quadruple certification: LEED v4.2 Platinum, LEED Zero Energy, EnergyStar, and Green Built Texas.
Stonegate draws inspiration from Usonian design. Usonian homes are known for their flat roofing, passive solar heating, natural light, visual continuity between the interior and exterior, and large windows and doorways that effortlessly merge the outside with the inside of the home.
Strait Lane
Architect: DGA Douglas Guiling Architect
The Strait Lane Residence is in a quiet neighborhood just south of the Hockaday School. A nearby creek creates a wonderful natural setting on the east side of the home. Large windows, outdoor living areas, and interactive balconies connect the interior to the nature outside. Spaces are filled with light, often from two sides of a room.
Influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Kahn, the home utilizes large overhangs, architect-designed details, and an experience that provides moments of discovery and framed views.
Sugar Creek
Architect: Fitzpatrick Architects
Located in a wooded setting adjacent to the fast-growing city of Tyler, this home has a strong connection to the outdoors. The structure uses a modern aesthetic and technologies, while also reflecting the vernacular structures of rural East Texas through form and materials.
The design of the home optimizes energy consumption and minimizes maintenance. The steel framework structure allows for large volumes of space throughout the home, with generous sweeping overhangs that provide shaded areas for entry and entertaining as well as solar protection for the large windows that connect the interior to the exterior.
Sugar Creek also features a new commissioned sculpture by award-winning Dallas photographer and architect Craig D. Blackmon, FAIA.
Wickmere Mews
Architect: DSGN Associates
Perched on high ground west of the Trinity River, the 1908 Wickmere Mews townhome provides a sweeping view of downtown Dallas. This single-family dwelling serves as a bookend to the adjacent townhouse development but maintains its own style. This modest-size lot challenged the architect to use the space efficiently.
The home is designed to accommodate the owner’s impressive collection of contemporary paintings. It features a steel and wood material palette, and is organized around a centrally located U-shaped staircase. The bedrooms and living spaces are maximized to bring in exterior light and frame the skyline view to the east. A roof deck provides a 360-degree view of the city.
