Camp Frio

Architect was selected based upon previous work that was visited by the client.

A multi-family compound rises from a remote, grassy valley on the bank of the Frio River deep in the Texas Hill Country. The goal for this project was to create shelters with an environmental experience unique to its place: where summer madness gives way to winter stillness; where city life and digital stimulation are replaced by the experience of feeling a cool breeze or snuggling up to a warm fire.

Structures consist of a main house, meditation room over art studio/garage, and two guest studio cottages. Main house and cottages are linked by a slightly elevated walkway which enables barefoot kids to run back and forth over the tall grass and creepy crawlers.

Much like “Dogtrot” shelters from the past, a breezeway bookended by concealed multi-slide doors bisects the main house enabling alfresco dining most of the year; alternatively, the space is zoned and can be enclosed for heating. Screened porches, front and back, envelope cozy living chambers. Secondary sleeping spaces occupy an attic that spans the rear porch of the main house while cottages feature open kids' lofts.

Structures were detailed for simplicity of construction with readily available, local materials fashioned by local tradesmen. Reporting after their first weekend in camp, the owner enthusiastically announced the spaces “are cozy… but ample and gracious; dark and moody…. but bright and airy.”

To recall historic local and rural structures.

Gentle low-slung roof forms seem to rise quietly out of the site. Structures feel as though they’ve been here for generations.

Local materials were used and simple detailing allowed execution by local craftsmen. Wide overhangs, operable windows, and central breezeway address local sunlight and air flow; tight construction and energy saving systems were utilized to maintain optimal comfort with relatively low impact.

Western Red Cedar and limestone, both of which are common to the area and ground the project in its locale.

Email interview conducted by John Hill.