Just imagine living in a 4,000
square foot open home with your family how’d you spend your first week here?
There’re a few things you need to see about the contemporary home known as the
Green Lantern Residence. It occupies a corner area in Alamo Heights, an
affluent neighborhood of San Antonio, Texas. The home is designed by San
Antonio-based studio John Grable Architects, actually showing an open nature
and embracing the natural surroundings in both shape and concept. The home kept
some of its original floor-plan, because the single story bedroom portions of
the original 1948 ranch style home remained and were encapsulated with new one
and two story public space additions.
John has carefully selected their
design weapons, offering the family their visually striking private heaven. At
the ground floor changes in level, stepping up over the pool along the main
entry bridge and back down again from the kitchen to the living area, provide a
playful dialogue and transition between public spaces, even as a largely open
floor plan and substantial windows act to connect these spaces to each other
and the outdoors. Moreover, wall-to-wall sliding doors in the living area open
up to expand the room out into the pool and landscape that provides additional
outdoor space for entertaining and gathering of friends and loved ones.
Moreover; the entry bridge
spanning the pool enlivens these outdoor spaces with a grotto waterfall niche
that compliments the cool shade of the heritage trees that reside throughout
the yard. This rhythm is mirrored at the second floor as a series of folding
doors in the ‘party room’ open to a large out-door terrace in the tree
canopies, which again steps down to its own “landscape” green roof garden with beautiful
hot tub that takes in distance vistas of downtown. Therefore incorporating
sustainable systems similar photovoltaic panels, a green roof system,
grey-water harvesting and LED lighting, the home was built with reverence for
natural design.
The new construction was designed
to re-use the existing foundation, and wood from the preceding structure was
recycled and re-used. Passive systems i.e. arbors and overhang structures were
implemented to form shading and decrease solar gain, though the complete
project was sited to protect the number of existing heritage oak trees establish
throughout the site during construction. It seems perfect for entertaining,
living a relaxed & joyful family life and enjoying a healthy, sustainable
approach to urban living, this green-certified home fold the most important
home sustainability issues into an elegant, eco-friendly family home.