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Turtle Creek House This House, 'theater of the trees,' was a response to the client's passion for bird-watching. The site is at the convergence of two major continental flyways on Turtle Creek in Dallas. One first encounters giant limestone ledges, which create a weighty and earthbound foreground: a dam of expectations. The ledges suggest a timeless relationship to the site, one that has geologic parallels to the Austin Chalk Formation, the spine that runs north-south through Dallas. The ledges are filled with plants that birds love: this way, birds always greet visitors. Vantage points are poised throughout the house. They are directly related to characteristics of the local avian habitats. A central 'sky ramp' projects the fissure of the entry into the surrounding canopy of trees. This trajectory aims toward the sky. It touches the ground lightly, allowing the undergrowth to flow beneath it. Its predominantly tensile steel composition resonates with the wind like an instrument. The entry fissure in the ledges
is a channel that separates the house into north and south 'houses.'
An interior black-steel bridge spans this entry hall. The
twenty-foot ceiling reveals the stratified tree canopy.
The entry hall is also the point of departure to the various
interior vantage points. A gallery zone links the north
and south houses. It parallels the limestone ledges and
begins an interior trail that culminates in a network of roof
terraces. |
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