This year’s Dallas AIA tour of homes featured many well designed homes; beautifully done with simple modern lines. However, almost certainly… of all the homes visited that fall weekend, one in particular stood out. The
Labron Residence is set within a heavily treed 1950’s neighborhood adjacent to many public parks.
view from the street
Living in a sustainable home was so important to the owners’ they not only desired to have a third party certified sustainable home from the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® for Homes rating system, they also made sure that the original structure helped the environment and not harm it. Deconstructed piece by piece, 95% of the materials were either reused or recycled. In light of this, it’s worthy to note that some of the best sustainable features do not shout out how “green” it is with a brightly colored windmill or glaring solar panel, it can be simply and quietly done for its worthiness alone.
Of course, none of this is observed as you come upon the home. Approaching the front door, the organic rolling waves of Texas Buffalograss are striking next to the clean yet warm brick and wood exterior. Heading up the concrete stepped entry, one may catch a glimpse of the original foundation behind the native plantings. Interestingly, the existing 1,440 square foot foundation was reused, thus saving the need for virgin concrete mix materials and tons of CO2 emissions from the making of cement.
fountain at the front porch
From the back, you can see the owners’ desire to relax and meditate among their low maintenance native garden and under well established Pecan Tree. The entry leads into a naturally daylit stairwell beckoning you to come up to the main part of the house. At the top of the stairs, as architect Kelly Mitchell describes on her website, you do feel like you are in a ‘tree house’. At first glance, all one notices is the large green trees of the neighborhood surrounding them. Next, for those of us who are trained in design, you begin to notice all of the unique and well thought-out apertures in which naturally filtered daylight is allowed to fall into the open living room and kitchen. Adding to this, the white quartz countertops and glass tile walls in the kitchen smoothly reflect light into the fresh yet comfortable dining and living area. Moving to the balcony, wide overhangs allude to how this shaded ‘tree house’ feel is accomplished.
Walking into the art studio, above the separate garage, it is easy to see the owners’ love for art and now how effortlessly it should be for them to get inspired. Finally, while the master bedroom and bath can be closed off from company, it’s hard to imagine why you would want to. Both of these again look onto the serene backyard and fully open onto a patio with plenty of space.
driveway to the back gate
The holistic design by
Mitchell Garman Architects earned a LEED for Homes Platinum certification for two passionate owners. But arguably, the best feature of this home it its size. So many well designed “green” homes are also enormous and thus adding to the energy loads to heat and cool the home. The Labron House successfully meets the challenge to design a small sustainable home. Even on the a hot summer day; the home’s large overhangs shade the seamless veranda and patios. The operable doors and windows effectively disappear while providing natural ventilation and therefore minimizing the need for conditioned space.
The rare opportunity to see such a beautiful home was not lost on those who toured it that weekend and being the nature of a private residence, it’s uncertain if we will have another one. Fortunately, the owners’ of the home have created a great
website and blog with many photos. Feel free to learn more.
- article and photographs by Beth Brant, AIA, LEED AP