The San Antonio Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) is hosting the 19th annual San Antonio Homes Tour on Saturday, Oct. 15 from noon to 6 p.m. The tour showcases six private homes, all designed by AIA San Antonio member architects, in the King William, Alamo Heights, Olmos Park, Oak Hills, and The Canyon at Scenic Loop neighborhoods. Every home has been either remodeled or newly constructed.
In order to be able to fully appreciate the architecture of each home, attendees are under no strict time constraint as they take self-guided tours of the homes. In a Monday phone interview with the Rivard Report, AIA San Antonio Executive Director Torrey Carleton cited the generous time frame as one of the beauties of the homes tour.
“This is a self-guided, self-driving tour that can be taken in any order,” Carleton said.
The tour is also meant to bring San Antonians face to face with creative design solutions and innovations that they can then incorporate into their own redesigns and constructions, especially in family homes.
“There are many home tours in the city. Ours is designed for actual families,” Carleton said. “It’s an exciting way to spend an afternoon looking for design solutions large and small. People can go shopping for product ideas, material ideas, and other ways to reshape their home and better serve the needs of a family.”
Carleton added that the homes on the tour are a diverse mixture: some are from the mid-century, some newer, and one was just recently built.
“This is a representative sampling of the great architectural work being done in San Antonio,” she said.
Wristbands for the entire tour can be purchased at The Twig Bookshop, located at 306 Pearl Pkwy., or at all H-E-B locations for $30 in advance or $35 on the day of the tour. Individual home tickets are $10.
Here are the homes that will be featured on the tour:
LPA Inc. | Mickey Conrad, AIA | 310 Madison St.
While this house in the King William neighborhood appears to be as old as the homes around it, was completed in 2010 and took the place of an old Victorian home that burned down. The house is LEED Gold certified by the U.S. Green Building Council for Homes for incorporating sustainable design features. The home features native plants, rainwater harvesting, storm water infiltration, efficient lights, and more sustainable features.
Elizabeth Haynes Architect | Elizabeth Haynes, AIA | 832 Estes Ave.
This historic home in the Alamo Heights area was constructed in 1922. The design team behind its most recent renovation fixed issues of interior space inefficiencies and compartmentalizations, reconfiguring the interior to suit contemporary needs. The home is an example of the workable mixture that historic and contemporary design can have.
John Grable Architects | John Grable, FAIA | 401 Ogden Ln.
Another Alamo Heights fixture on the edge of the Alamo Heights nature trail, this home has large glass fixtures that bring the homeowner close to home’s natural surroundings. With a focus on nature for the design of the house, Grable made sure that every detail was carefully constructed to create an animated structure throughout.
Dado Group | Kristin Hefty, AIA | 250 Stanford Dr.
The recent renovation of this Olmos Park home was to do away with the 1963 design that architectural journalist Steve Bennett described as “caught in a kind of ‘Brady Bunch’ time warp.” What was once a dark and boxy house has been turned into a naturally lit, retro-feeling modern home.
Ford Powell & Carson | O’Neil Ford, FAIA | 3910 Midvale Dr.
This home designed by the late O’Neil Ford, one of the most prominent architects in the Southwest of his time, is considered one of the most stylishly designed homes by his firm. Designed for a Dr. and Mrs. Wong and their family in the ’60s, the home has largely been preserved with its original furniture and layout.
JMS Architects | Joseph M. Smith, AIA | 23421 Edens Canyon
While considering the typical suburban layout of a planned community, this home isn’t your typical suburb house. With its open concept layout, the home, nestled in a rock outcropping, offers expansive views of the surrounding Texas Hill Country.
