The Treetops House by Specht Architects is a renovation and major expansion of a 1955 suburban ranch house located in Austin, Texas.

Description by Specht Architects
Treetops House The Treetops House is a renovation and major expansion of a 1955 suburban ranch house. The project presented some interesting questions of preservation vs change, as well as a compelling story of dealing with a challenging (and ultimately rewarding) site. The original house was very typical for its time and place?a sprawling single-story, fairly nondescript affair that had small windows, and was clad entirely in Texas limestone. Our challenge was to turn this into a modern house that was open, bright, and inviting, while not completely obliterating all traces of what had existed before. Part of our philosophy is that elements of the history of a place be retained and incorporated into any new design. There are characteristics of almost any design, regardless of how banal, that embody memories and a sense of neighborhood. We feel that preserving these adds depth to any new intervention. With the Treetops House, we largely maintained the entire limestone perimeter wall, and used it as a heavy plinth on which a new second level was added. The new upper level features large frameless glass windows and is filled with light. The interior was opened up to create double-height spaces that bring this light from above and into the center of the house. The new composition is one whic...