Crowley House

Located next to Carlos Jimenez Studio on Willard Street, the Crowley house undertakes another variation on an urban ensem­ble that began in 1983. Parallel to the studio, the 3,000 square-foot house reinforces a set of corresponding spaces between the two sites. The two-story house consists of a lower and upper unit, independent yet linked like a duplex by a common staircase. The ground-level unit is the smallest one with two bedrooms, a media room, kitchen dining and living area. These spaces open or overlook a private courtyard and linear gardens. The upper unit is an open loft-like volume spanning the entire length of the house. The views are oriented to the courtyard below, Willard street and Houston’s skyline to the east. Terrazzo and stone flooring under­line an essential materiality present in what is already a minimally detailed house. A trellis-like open carport interlocks with the solid street elevation to become an integral composition. The main entrance to the house is placed between these two contrasting material and spatial conditions.