The Wolfe Den by MJ Neal Architects
MJ Neal Architects have designed the ‘Wolfe Den’ house in Austin, Texas.
Full description after the photos….
Photos by Viviane Vives
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The Wolfe Den by MJ Neal Architects
2,400 sq ft
Austin, TX
Single family dwelling for a young professional couple. The site is a small 47′ by 125′ rectilinear in-fill lot situated within a twenty minute walk of downtown.
The house consists of two parts, a simple rectangle along one side of the lot and an adjacent courtyard. This configuration provides privacy from the street while allowing the interior living areas to open onto decks and garden. An overhang with lattice provides the transition to the garden and protection from the west sun.
The house, although conventionally framed, used green methodology and materials: Slab on grade with diamond ground finish. Bio-base (soy) blow-in insulation for the exterior wall and roof. Recycled denim insulation on the interior walls. Recycled rubber flooring on the upper level. Formaldehyde-free plywood. Low-voc paint. Ipe hard-wood from sustainably managed forests. Locally manufactured brick. Fluorescent and low voltage lighting. Geothermal HVAC system. The house is also photo-voltaic ready for when budget allows.
Visit the website of MJ Neal Architects – here.
Oliver on 31 Aug 2009 at 9:36 pm #
absolute beautiful house especially the use of natural light in the bathroom is great … and the shower … amazing
Jaco on 31 Aug 2009 at 10:37 pm #
I like it
Lance on 01 Sep 2009 at 3:02 am #
Agreed! The shower is unique and the outdoor/indoor lines are blurred very well here. I don’t care for the creepy models in the photos though. The stories they seem to tell are spooky.
But a few key pieces of art here and there and some simple accessories, anything too prominent would destroy the lines of the house, would make this a perfect house. The terrazzo floors are a nice change of pace too, very fitting.
jeffrey on 01 Sep 2009 at 3:21 am #
love the drawing/floor plan layout and actual exterior.. use of light and space is very interesting.. what isnt interesting is the high school looking cinder-block wall by the entrance and the actual interior design.. what is that ugly black furniture?… are there bedrooms, rugs? lots of hard surfaces and nothing soft.. seems very devoid of any human touches although there is a family living there or are they just faux for the fotos? btw what is she doing in the tub foto? taking a …….?? very odd
Sarah McFerguson on 01 Sep 2009 at 3:30 am #
This is much more interesting than the average house that gets built in Austin.
Will on 01 Sep 2009 at 8:06 am #
Can someone explain the concept of the shower? Does the water seep in through the cracks?! Looks amazing.
A.Tarek on 01 Sep 2009 at 8:20 am #
Much simple & fullll of taste,
Its purely Good Architecture.
luke on 01 Sep 2009 at 9:49 am #
love it, love it, love it!!!!!!!
i just love the clean, straight edges everywhere. its very private yet very open and homey. gr8 work!
tom on 01 Sep 2009 at 11:20 am #
I would buy this right now.
cocteau on 01 Sep 2009 at 1:31 pm #
one of the best houses i´ve ever seen!
Shayan on 01 Sep 2009 at 1:59 pm #
using the natural light, loveee it, this is perfect.
Lance on 01 Sep 2009 at 2:59 pm #
Wow and there’s normally one amongst us who doesn’t like something about the house. Could we have our first unanimous decision regarding architecture?
Ray on 01 Sep 2009 at 7:00 pm #
what a coool house, love many things about it, well done owners and the architects
bekkymay on 01 Sep 2009 at 9:38 pm #
Yep, I love it too. Simple and beautiful. Nice to see something that doesn’t require a large number of spaces for the more typical smaller households.
We often do this deck floor to a shower in tropical Queensland, however this is the first I have seen it on an upper level. I would assume it has a tray roof floor under the deck, but you’d want to be sure you had your waterproofing spot on for those rooms under.
mehedi on 01 Sep 2009 at 11:06 pm #
very clean & nice approach…
Rudy on 02 Sep 2009 at 12:11 am #
In more then one respect this reminds me of the Eames house, be it an updated modern version. This is a house many people can relate to.
Can we please ask for some moderation to filter family pics out of postings? Seeing the odd poses, it even makes you unwillingly think about them.
Dave on 02 Sep 2009 at 12:48 am #
I enjoy the photos with people in them. I think it helps to see the way people interact with the space. In the photos above, I especially appreciate the one with the girl sitting on the extended stair. If it wasn’t for that photo, there probably would have been comments from people wondering what the purpose of that extended stair was.
Photos with people in them also help to understand the scale of the rooms. We featured a residence in London the other day, and in the comments, people were questioning the height of the ceilings. If there were people in some of the photos, it would have helped everyone to understand the ceiling heights a lot more.
difusoir on 02 Sep 2009 at 3:33 pm #
Simply beautiful and well done architecture. Bravo!
Chris on 03 Sep 2009 at 6:16 am #
Awesome! I love the honest use of the materials throughout the building. It is awesome how there are limited to no actual “windows”..but more curtain wall and full planar surfaces that use shading to filter light into the spaces. I do agree with Jeffrey about the “high school type entrance” because that’s exactly what it reminded me of. But besides that, I really love the use of natural light above the bathroom sink, and above the wooden bench in another photo. The only thing I have in question is the privacy of the bathroom upstairs?
Viviane Vives on 03 Sep 2009 at 6:42 am #
FWIW. The unfortunate concrete block wall belongs to the neighbor. Fig vine has been planted on the Wolfe Den side to cover it.
The bathroom is completely private because the whole master area wing is isolated from the rest of the house and the orientation of the sliding door. The sliding door is not the entry to the bath, BTW, you enter from the hallway.
Chris on 03 Sep 2009 at 7:06 am #
Oh I know that the bathroom is completely private to the master suite, but even at that I’m not sure if I personally like the open-ness of the bath tub to the deck (although it would be quite relaxing to sit in the bath tub at sundown and have the sun penetrate into the room through the deck. But then again, it is all personal preference! (the reason I love architecture!)
Viviane Vives on 03 Sep 2009 at 7:39 am #
I LOVE showering outside… I think that’s the whole point, MJ loves to open his showers and baths to the outside to get the wind and the light mixed with the water, the feeling is so relaxing… if you want total privacy just lock the door to the master suite area and you got it.
Dave the Puller on 03 Sep 2009 at 1:02 pm #
@ Will
The shower floor is removable decking pannels, floating above a fiberglass basin. The deck on the outside patio next to it is as well, but drains to the outside wall of the house.
Greg Baker on 04 Sep 2009 at 10:05 am #
Tom, I’m with you. I would love to see another house like this get done. Now is a fantastic time to build a MJ Neal house, with construction and lot costs so low. I’ll put together the location and the construction financing, if anyone is interested in owning it. If you put the right site and client in front of MJ, I don’t think he even has a way of holding back the creativity. I love to see great architecture come to life, and not just get talked about. http://www.mjnealblog.com if you’re interested. His team knows how to contact me. I’ll bring the wine to the house warming!
Kate on 05 Sep 2009 at 7:33 pm #
i also thought of the eames house, considering the rectangular footprint. i really dig the sandy brick wall/outdoor fireplace. very 1950s. i’m loving the contemporary take on the mid-century style. it’s fantastic. the materials seem well-chosen and the dimensions are wonderful. not small at all, but not too big, with plenty of natural light that is not too glaring. it’s inspiring — i have that same shade of terrazzo flooring; naturally i think it’s a clean touch.
Viviane Vives on 07 Sep 2009 at 11:15 am #
Actually Kate, the floor does look very much like terrazzo, but it’s actually diamond blade polish. MJ worked with the foundation guys to get the right mix of aggregate in the foundation, and the right color and then had it diamond polished.
thomas on 20 Sep 2009 at 5:45 pm #
I love contemporary design, but the house seems like a fishbowl. The patio/yard appears a stage for the neighbors…lacks privacy. The shower is a neat concept, I’ve always wanted an outdoor shower for these Texas summers, the outside air evaporating the water on the skin is refreshing beyond description. How do you restrict soap residue in the shower area, a clean up nightmare. The house needs a bigger, more comfortable lot and a garage or carport is a necessity here in the sun broiling texas summer.
dUFFY on 28 Sep 2009 at 3:09 am #
Typical American worried about his car, nice one Thomas. Lets not let the motorcar dictate the programme because that’s sad. A lovely house, i love the use of natural light, lourves etc. I think formally it plays the right game to achieve meaningful spaces. Well done great job.
Miroslav Stefanovic on 30 Sep 2009 at 2:41 am #
very, very, mmmmmmmmmmm slick
great details and great interlocking of spaces
as a coleague to coleague BRAVO
Viviane Vives on 01 Oct 2009 at 9:10 pm #
the house has a garage in the back, I didn’t photograph it because the access to it wasn’t finished… that’s were the geothermal slush goes…
hZ! on 10 Nov 2009 at 7:17 am #
do NOT run up or down those stairs! to slip could be fatal
Dennis on 06 Aug 2010 at 6:47 am #
absolutely unbelievably amazing! but… showering on a timber surface… tricky!