Bold Ruler House

In complement to its setting on a limestone slope overlooking the Texas Hill Country, Bold Ruler House draws its inspiration from the clusters of ancient Roman and Etruscan hillside towns. It is composed of a collection of stucco-and-glass volumes which project out dramatically over the hillside. These volumes are nestled between heavy demising stone walls that appear to be drawn up from the ground. Over 400 locally quarried load-bearing limestone blocks each weighing over two tons create the structure of the house.

Entered from the street above, the building rests on one main level that buries into the slope then cantilevers out from it.  The entry foyer offers an immediate glimpse of the spectacular setting then provides access to a guest wing to one side and the great room to the other.  The great room, book-ended by the massive limestone walls that define the home’s spaces, contains kitchen, dining and living areas, and features a continuous full-height window wall that frames the negative-edge pool and spa.  A flex room with double-height ceilings connects the public zone to the master suite, which terminates in a suspended private deck.

The shifting composition of stone and stucco is capped by a weathered-steel roof, inspired by the wabi-sabi aesthetic of the iconic Pennybacker Bridge, less than a mile away.

Project name Bold Ruler House

Typology Single family residence

Location Westlake Hills, Texas

Year 2015

Status Built

Size 4,730 square feet

Design Team Thomas Bercy, Calvin Chen, Joshua Mackley