Radial House

Situated at the apex of a natural sphere created by a convex cliff-lined bend in Lake Austin, the house welcomes one from the realm of suburban banality through a focused entry procession and into another world- one of verdant woods, rocky promontories, and meandering waterways. Carefully sited in plan to embrace these sweeping protected views, the lakefront building also engages the hillside’s sectional variety to offer unexpected and dramatic vertical panoramas, from water’s edge below to high bluffs overhead. A series of lofted central living spaces are defined by a pair of massive masonry volumes, which in turn support a series of thin floating roof planes and cantilevered balconies that strategically frame unlikely ridgeline views hundreds of feet above the site itself.  Secondary program is tucked under low-slung roof lines, subservient to the boughs of existing live oaks. Vertically threading through the atrium-like core of the home, a minimal steel and glass stair delicately connects the lofted living spaces to the light-filled guest quarters below, which in turn have direct access to the lower site amenities, including a swimming pool terrace, gardens and detached boat house.