Our clients purchased this home in a leap of faith. The previous owner assured them somewhere under the layers of shapeless exterior additions and interior partitioning a 1880s era masonry (caliche) structure waited to be uncovered. This structure, considered a landmark by the City of San Antonio, only became visible when those accretions had been stripped away.
Our approach was to open the interior of the masonry structure as one undivided living space, setting two bathing and sleeping areas, guest and master, apart in separate wings. These wings are alike in their formal simplicity, deferring to the rough materiality of the main house, but are sheathed in different materials, the master in stucco and the guest in painted wood siding, typical of neighboring houses.
The wings and the main house form three sides of a small private courtyard which includes a small dipping pool.
The design both respects the historic structure and creates a small compound which accommodates a modern, urban way of life.
