This adaptive re-use project brings new life to three existing bungalows within the Houston Heights Historic District by introducing new elements with a playful contemporary character. Along White Oak Drive, the design maintains the facades of the three existing bungalows, preserving the neighborhood’s historic character. Behind the bungalows, a linear addition stitches together the existing buildings with a covered breezeway that connects all three structures. An expanded metal skin wraps the breezeway, providing shade and a veil of privacy to the interior.
An elevated deck extends outward from the breezeway, creating a surface for outdoor gathering in the shade of the trees. That surface slopes upward and downward, mitigating the varying floor heights of the existing bungalows, while also ramping down to connect to the sidewalks and parking. Recessed columns allow the deck to cantilever slightly, giving the impression that the deck floats above the ground plane. The deck expands where space allows, slips into narrow gaps between the bungalows, and dodges the roots of existing trees, allowing them to spring upward through the openings. These gestures establish a dialogue between new and existing, creating generous spaces for larger groups as well as more intimate moments when a bit of privacy is desired.
As the deck reaches the extents of the site, the deck turns upward. In some instances, these vertical transitions become benches for sitting along an elevated edge. At others, the surface folds up and over, providing shade and a degree of enclosure. At the back of the site, the largest of these folds defines an enclosure for a new space that meets the historic districts roof profile requirement in a contemporary manner. Throughout the site, these new elements work in concert with the existing buildings to create a lively atmosphere, activating previously vacant buildings in the neighborhood.