b y I ng r i d S p en c e r
p r o j e c t East
Windsor Residence, Austin
c l i e n t Thomas
Fletcher, MD
a r c h i t e c t alterstudio
architects
d e s i g n t e a m Kevin Alter; Ernesto Cragnolino, AIA; Russell Krepart;
Jessica Connolly c o n t r a c t o r Crowell+ c o n s u l t a n t s Structures (structural); Design Mechanical (mechani-
cal); Esko Electric (electrical); Next Electronic Systems (electrical); Mojica Plumbing (plumbing); David/Peese Design (landscape); Kathy Spinks (interior, finishes) p h o t o g r a p h e r Paul
9 / 1 0
2 0 1 0
Finkel; Jonathan Jackson
East Windsor Residence
According to Kevin Alter, the 4,200-sf, three-story East Windsor Residence is essentially a one-bedroom loft because the top floor “has all the pleasures and attributes of a penthouse and then it expands down to give you all this other stuff.” The project was designed by Alter, along with alterstudio architects co-principal Ernesto Cragnolino, AIA, with a focus on the third level, which boasts 270-degree views and contains the master suite, kitchen, and main living area. But the “other stuff” found on the remaining two levels completes this finely crafted house in dynamic and dramatic ways. The client, Thomas Fletcher, MD, likens the house to a pair of custom-made boots because it is comfortably functional and perfectly suited to its owner. “I call the house ergonomic because it’s such a good fit for me,” says Fletcher, a radiologist with five children, two of whom live with him some of the year. A standout among the early-twentieth-century, brick, chateau-style residences in the Old Enfield neighborhood just west of downtown Austin. Fletcher’s modernist home appears to rise up from a foundation of black Leuders limestone. From street level, a path of concrete steps gently ascends toward the entry that is protectively inset within the limestone-clad ground floor. An over-scaled, pivoting front door of glass provides a fluid transition from rough exterior to polished interior. Beyond the entry is a stair with large ebonized oak treads hanging in a vertical space that connects all three stories (there is also an elevator). Past the stair, an etched glass wall reveals moving shadows
t e x a s
a r c h i t e c t
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