Arrowhead House

Perched on a steep, heavily wooded slope in a hilly Austin neighborhood, Arrowhead House points towards an expansive view of downtown Austin eight miles to the southeast through the valleys carved by the Colorado River and its spring-fed tributary, Bull Creek. The prismatic triangular shape, suggesting an ancient Native American arrowhead discovered in the wilderness, results from the contours of the site parallel to the street and from the view corridor easements that protect views towards downtown Austin from its surrounding hills. The house hovers on slender columns above the tree canopy to maximize panoramic vistas while minimizing its disturbance of the flood-prone, hydrologically sensitive karst landscape of the Texas Hill Country.

Designed for an avid car collector, the house is accessed from the street above via a gently curving driveway past the most acute point of the cantilevered roof pointing towards the vista. Tethering the house to the street like an airport jetway, the driveway leads to the 90-degree corner anchoring the right triangle, which is occupied by the glass garage showcasing the owner’s car collection. The master bedroom suite occupies the most acute corner of the triangle where it terminates with a private balcony overlooking the pool below like the prow of a ship. The suite shares the upper floor with the garage, both enjoying easy access to the street. The rest of the program, including the main living areas, pool, and guest rooms, occupies the level suspended below. A spiral stair occupying an open double-height volume links the two levels and offers glimpses of the car collection and vistas of the Austin skyline beyond. Near the landing of the spiral stair, a centrally located kitchen serves as a hinge between the game room, dining, and living room. Generous outdoor terraces along the hypotenuse of the triangle, its longest and most transparent side, link the living spaces to the linear lap pool framing the view, punctuated by a spa at the very point of the arrowhead.

Project name Arrowhead House

Typology Single family residence

Location Austin, Texas

Year 2020

Status Under construction

Size 6,000 square feet

Design Team Calvin Chen, Colin Simmer, Joshua Mackley, Jessie Ho