Project Kimber Modern, Austin Client Kimber Cavendish and Vicki Faust Architect Burton Baldridge Architects Design team R. Burton Baldridge, AIA; Shawn Brown; Theodore Slate; James Faircloth Contractor Burton Baldridge Architects (design/build) Consultants Structures (structural) Photographer Casey Dunn
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s urban infill lots go, the roughly 12,000-sf triangular site that is now home to the Kimber Modern Bed & Breakfast presented Baldridge Architects with more than its fair share of challenges. For one, the rather small plot rose 25 feet in elevation from the curb to the back lot line, a precipitous pitch. Furthermore, neighboring establishments created conditions that most would find undesirable for a boutique design hotel. The street itself — The Circle — is used as a service road for many of the businesses on nearby South Congress, Austin’s main downtown commercial corridor. Dumpsters crowd the narrow, curving lane and during the day beer trucks regularly stop to disgorge their contents to the neighborhood bars and restaurants. At night, what might otherwise be a sleepy entrance to the Travis Heights residential district is buffeted by the clamor of the revelers who partake of that beer. However, the plot was not without its merits. Its central location made it perfect for lodging seeking to charge its guests more than $200 per night,
9/10 2012
Texas Architect 55