AIA Dallas Tour of Modern Homes: Nov. 2-3, 2013

Here is the Opportunity to See the Finest Recent Architectural Modern Work by Dallas Architects

My favorite Dallas home tour of the year is hosted by the American Institute of Architects, Dallas Chapter. Every year for the last seven years the AIA offers architecture aficionados, those considering building a modern home, those passionate or just curious about good design the chance to see the latest and finest work by talented architects.

804 KESSLER WOODS TRAIL

Designed by Domiteaux + Baggett

November 2nd and 3rd, Tour from 10am to 5pm

You can buy a $30 ticket at the door of any of the ten homes you are able to see on this Dallas tour. This selection of modern homes was co-chaired by architect Kelly Mitchell, a very fine architect who has also had homes she designed featured on previous tours. She and her committee have created the best modern home tour yet. We all benefit from her good eye and sensibility for quality and inspirational architecture.

Kelly Mitchell, AIA, and the selection committee curated a collection of small and moderate size homes that have a concentrated design which ignites an expansive and graceful view of nature and sunlight. My admiration for an architecturally significant home always starts with my fascination with its site. The best homes are always on great sites. When you visit these ten homes on tour, you will see how the interesting sites prompted the design of these articulate modern homes. The home shown above design by Mark Domiteaux, Laura Baggett, and Douglas Payne reflects the urban edge of the neighborhood and adjacent forest reserve.

12001 BROWNING LANE

Designed by Domiteaux + Baggett

At 12001 Browning Lane, architects Mark Domiteaux, Laura Baggett and Douglas Payne designed the modern interpretation of a split-level modern home associated with this North Dallas neighborhood. The soft canopy of a mature pecan tree in the garden accentuates the strong linear composition of the home. Deep overhangs and a covered terrace create shade and a transition from the expansive glazed openings looking into the garden and the disappearing glass panels that allow the interior space to transition to the garden.

21 WINDING LAKE DRIVE

Designed by Smitharc

Jason Smith, AIA, and Signe Smith designed this contemporary home at the end of a North Dallas cul-de-sac for work/home/family. The series of sculpted volumes create multi-functional spaces that provide flexibility. Here you will see the graceful transition and transformation of public spaces into private spaces, and interior spaces into exterior spaces.

10752 WYATT CIRCLE

Designed by Welch Architecture

Cliff Welch is an architect most known for his mid-century inspired modern designed homes. More and more I am associating Cliff Welch with homes on stunning, elevated sites overlooking trees on White Rock Lake. Cycling hard around White Rock Lake and then looking up at the modern home he designed on West Lake Highlands Drive always gives me a surge and a smile.

At 10752 Wyatt Circle, Cliff Welch has designed another home perched high, this one on one of the highest elevations in Dallas east of White Rock Lake. From inside this contemporary home or from the deck sheltered by the seven foot eaves, one overlooks miles of treetops.

4626 CHEROKEE TRAIL

Designed by Susan Appleton

A pie-shaped lot immediately eliminates the traditional home or modern white box. Architect Susan Appleton intersects two geometries, resolved by a tall connection as the pivoting element at the point of entry. The solidity of the interior and exterior concrete block is juxtaposed with the design of custom fabricated steel and the visual delicacy of the stairs, catwalk, and trellis.

3501 LINDENWOOD AVENUE

Designed by Marc McCollom, AIA

On a corner lot in Highland Park, architect Marc McCollum creates a series of three overlapping volumes of the public realm providing an enticing approach emphasizing the landscape while taking note of the site and comparable sized homes of the neighborhood.

Here you will find a dynamic home that is modern, straightforward and elegant.

3615 GILLESPIE STREET UNIT B

Designed by A Gruppo Architects with Heath Macdonald, RA + Steven Quevedo

3615 GILLESPIE STREET UNIT C

Designed by Mitchell Garman

Mid-century modern design made apartment living stylish and fun in the 1950s. It is a testament to how powerful and persuasive modern design of the mid-century by the number of apartments that still stand and are being renovated when traditional homes, some only twenty-five years old, are being torn down.

Apartments, condominiums, and town houses built in the 1950s are desired by those buying their first home or downsizing. No matter the generation mid-century modern design continues to resonate particularly when they are renovated with the architectural ability of sure-handed architects Heath Macdonald and Steven Quevedo, and architect Kelly Mitchell who recently designed the interiors of 3516 Gillespie Street Unit B and Unit C respectively.

10754 WYATT CIRCLE

Designed by Landry and Landry

A small home can have a dramatic presence if it is gently placed on a pristine wooded hillside, like this home at 10754 Wyatt Circle in East Dallas close to White Rock Lake. Two intersecting parts of the home create a space for the expansive deck reaching out into the woods. The trellis casts shadows, continuing the dappled light of the surrounding forest.

8643 GROVELAND DRIVE

Designed by TKTR w/ Thad Reeves, AIA

Thad Reeves, AIA, and Truett Roberts designed a small modern home with the vertical presence that personifies the character of Little Forest Hills, a neighborhood hidden among the trees east of White Rock Lake in Forest Hills. The home owner and client is an avid gardener who chose the neighborhood for its natural setting. Each room shares an intimacy with the large trees and intimate gardens of the site.