1812 Marshall Street

Design: Set in Houston’s Montrose neighborhood the home blends elements inspired by the neighborhood context alongside a modern family lifestyle. Materials such as brick, lap siding and wood accents give the home a traditional character and blend with the surrounding homes while large expanses of glass with aluminum window systems provide an update for the modern lifestyle. Shaker millwork in the kitchen is integrated with flat panel wood elements to again marry old and new styles. The garage was located in the rear due to HOA requirements; however, the architects carefully incorporated this area into side yard design to minimize impacts of the drive while capturing open space into the garden and pool areas.

Craft: The home was a custom design-build project led by the architects as traditional site built construction alongside a prefabricated accessory dwelling unit, ADU which serves as guest flex space and home office. The kitchen and baths feature an Italian millwork with high end finishes. Skylights are used in sky areas to bring natural light from above for specific lighting effects while windows address carefully selected views on site.

Innovation: This home is a great example of blending traditional and modern elements and making design attainable and suited for a family lifestyle. The ADU demonstrates innovative ways homeowners can add value and functionality to their existing properties. With the new City of Houston ordinances passed last fall, ADU’s can now more easily be added to benefit property owners and provide additional accommodations while preserving the existing neighborhood streetscape.

Sustainability: Sustainable green features include low flow plumbing, energy star appliances, low-e insulated windows, and LED lighting. The ADU also demonstrates the benefits of prefab construction. Prefabricated Off-site construction is inherently more sustainable than site build construction as less waste is produced and more materials are able to be recycled due to the controlled environment. Materials are not. subject to moisture, mold, or weather in the construction process providing straighter construction, reliability, and improved indoor air quality. There is less disturbance to the site and less impact on trees and erosion as only the final assembly occurs on site.