The Bridge a narrow lot home
den bedroom
bedroom
balcony
balcony
second floor – 1330sf
living room
kitchen flex room carport
Flood plain
first floor - 1010sf
autocourt
solar collection passive cooling clerestory
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passive cooling clerestory
polycarbonate sliding panels
stair den
balcony
carport kitchen
flex room
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The space program for a home in the 21st century is one of less formality and more flexibility. The ‘bridge’ layout of this house solves the parking requirements of the site while still giving the home a living presence on the street. The forward ground floor room, which completes the bridge, is the manifestation of this new flexible program. This room is partially isolated from the living and sleeping spaces of the home. As a home office or hobby space this room displays the identity of its occupant in the facade like a storefront. As a guest room this space allows sufficient privacy for the visitor and occupant. The ground floor of the bridge is tucked in beneath the cantilever of the second floor to provide shading for the oversize glass doors and provide the maximum amount of space for the side courtyard. This design also allows maximum maneuverability for parking in the carport. The first floor is defined by a steel frame structure, which runs the length of the house. This structure allows the ground floor to be defined not as a series of boxed rooms but as an open pavilion defined only by simple planes of varying materials. The second floor program contains all of the private spaces of the dweller. These rooms look over the courtyard via balconies that are also enclosed by the second floor envelope. A series of sliding polycarbonate panels on the outside of the building, controls sunlight and weather on the balconies and windows of the second floor. A clerestory 'cupola' over each of the stairwells contains operable windows so that warm air can be exhausted out of the house passively in the spring and fall months when the Texas climate permits. The flat roof and parapet wall allow a generous, hidden space on the roof for an array of photovoltaic panels or other type of solar collection.
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South elevation
passive cooling clerestory passive cooling clerestory
solar collection
Roof plan