Towering mature oak trees surround this contemporary urban retreat in Austin, Texas – their leafy green canopy extends across the facade, contrasting with the minimal, arid garden that links the property to the street. Tucked away in the city’s Bouldin Creek neighbourhood, Lantern House was designed by Bercy Fadel as a quiet urban retreat shaped by the light and landscape. While a tall white brick facade wraps around the lower half of the home, providing privacy and protection, wide banks of glass peek from behind the parapet.
Tucked away in its densely wooded plot, the building consists of interlocking volumes that weave between the established trees. Beyond the closed brick wall that conceals the home from the street, the layout gradually opens to the outdoors, with large areas of glazing, shaded terraces and small internal courtyards. The top-level floor-to-ceiling windows filter daylight deep into the interior spaces, while framing views of the surrounding canopy. As the sun moves across the site, shifting patterns of light play within the spaces – the name Lantern House inspired by the illuminated interiors that glow softly through the glass…