Red Bud House

Westlake, Texas

This 300 square foot guest house is an addition to an 800 square foot 1950s house. The existing home employs classic elements of fifties architectural vocabulary: low-lying rooflines, wide overhangs; a four-foot module; cross ventilation in every room (an ingenious system of hoppers and awning windows); "thin" materials like T-111 siding and soffits; and polished black concrete floors. The guest house echoes these elements and proportions. It is a modest, disciplined little structure. A new form-giving breezeway links the two structures, adding light and shadow to the composition. Just as the house wings are dark and horizontal, the breezeway is barn red, tall and narrow, full of light, air, and movement - a contrast that makes these spaces unforgettable.