Modern Architecture
Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: A Concrete Box Home With Japanese Style
A love of Japan’s minimalistic style and the use of concrete make for a mystical experience in this Houston home
Architects Christopher Robertson and Viv Nguyen believe that concrete holds a mystical quality. Whenever they walk into a building made of concrete, they feel it in their bones. “Concrete feels a certain way that’s different than Sheetrock,” Robertson says. “It sounds different. It’s a thick material that creates heavy weight. There’s a different sense of air. It sounds like bull… but it’s not. It’s there.”
The entry sequence and the way you move through the home is another way the design nods to the East. The path leads around the concrete wall seen here to a courtyard that reveals glimpses into the home, then past some landscaping, and finally to a small deck and the front door. “You don’t dumbly enter into the building,” Robertson says. “There’s a buildup. A careful sequence unfolds without exposing everything all at once.”
The wood is Siberian larch, which apart from a “very effective salesperson,” he says jokingly, was chosen for being an abundant older-growth softwood that’s more rot-resistant than typical cedar siding. Without stain or paint, the wood will naturally weather to a silvery gray.
The wood is Siberian larch, which apart from a “very effective salesperson,” he says jokingly, was chosen for being an abundant older-growth softwood that’s more rot-resistant than typical cedar siding. Without stain or paint, the wood will naturally weather to a silvery gray.
The concrete walls proved more challenging than the couple anticipated. “It was a big deal,” says Robertson, who was the general contractor and, along with Nguyen, the co-architect for the project. “A lot of my life was wrapped up in getting these walls built.”
It took a crew of 10 people working a month just to build the framework in which to pour the concrete walls in place. When the framework is 16 feet high, there’s a lot of pressure pushing against it. “If it’s not built correctly, it will blow apart, and you have a giant $50,000 mess of concrete everywhere,” he says.
The couple had been living in a 1,000-square-foot apartment. With a baby on the way, they felt as though their home were bursting at the seams whenever they hosted Robertson’s children from a previous marriage. For budgetary reasons, they didn’t want to go over about 3,000 square feet and ended up right at 2,900. “It’s a pretty damn big house, but in Houston, it’s kind of small,” he says. “Coming from 1,000 square feet, it feels like a mansion.”
It took a crew of 10 people working a month just to build the framework in which to pour the concrete walls in place. When the framework is 16 feet high, there’s a lot of pressure pushing against it. “If it’s not built correctly, it will blow apart, and you have a giant $50,000 mess of concrete everywhere,” he says.
The couple had been living in a 1,000-square-foot apartment. With a baby on the way, they felt as though their home were bursting at the seams whenever they hosted Robertson’s children from a previous marriage. For budgetary reasons, they didn’t want to go over about 3,000 square feet and ended up right at 2,900. “It’s a pretty damn big house, but in Houston, it’s kind of small,” he says. “Coming from 1,000 square feet, it feels like a mansion.”
A large wood gate pivots open to connect the driveway to the entry courtyard, which is lined with white limestone gravel.
The open living, kitchen and dining spaces occupy the concrete box form. The clean, minimalist style of Japan informs the design. “We are definitely Japanophiles,” Robertson says.
Skylights and courtyards on both ends bring in natural light. Robertson was hoping the concrete wall in the front would reflect the Texas sun into the home. “We studied it in computer models, and it works exactly as planned,” he says.
Siberian larch clads a portion of the ceiling. If you imagine the wood-clad box seen from the outside, this is where that form would theoretically splice into the concrete form, representing a true rectangular box covered in all sides with wood. “It helps explain what’s going on in the design,” Robertson says.
Sofa: Roche Bobois; coffee table Poliform; chairs: B&B Italia
Skylights and courtyards on both ends bring in natural light. Robertson was hoping the concrete wall in the front would reflect the Texas sun into the home. “We studied it in computer models, and it works exactly as planned,” he says.
Siberian larch clads a portion of the ceiling. If you imagine the wood-clad box seen from the outside, this is where that form would theoretically splice into the concrete form, representing a true rectangular box covered in all sides with wood. “It helps explain what’s going on in the design,” Robertson says.
Sofa: Roche Bobois; coffee table Poliform; chairs: B&B Italia
Painted doors made of medium-density fiberboard slide to hide the architect couple’s workspace off the kitchen when they’re not working.
Robertson and Nguyen didn’t want the kitchen to look like a kitchen because it’s surrounded by the public spaces, so they disguised the appliances. The cooktop blends into the dark granite counter, the fridge is integrated into the cabinetry, and the dishwasher, microwave and oven are visible only if you’re standing in the kitchen.
A split-level design puts the island at countertop height on one side and tabletop height on the other, thanks to a raised platform. This way, a regular bench or chairs can be used instead of countertop-height furniture.
Cabinets: Poliform; flooring: white oak
A split-level design puts the island at countertop height on one side and tabletop height on the other, thanks to a raised platform. This way, a regular bench or chairs can be used instead of countertop-height furniture.
Cabinets: Poliform; flooring: white oak
Dining table: Restoration Hardware; chairs: Modernica
As you enter the home, a chunk of limestone forms a step up to a platform that creates a bench to the left for taking off or putting on shoes. The stairs lead to the three bedrooms and a small library to the left of the landing.
Nearby, a floating shelf with a lamp on top provides a spot to drop keys.
Lamp: Kartell
Lamp: Kartell
Robertson and Nguyen wanted a generous feeling to the master bathroom. It includes a big wet room covered in large-format marble tile. “We don’t like shower glass,” he says. “It’s hard to keep clean.”
Bathtub: ADM; shower: Axor, Hansgrohe
The couple chose to keep the bedrooms small, opting instead for oversize closets and a master bathroom.
In the master bedroom, shown here, the floor near the window drops down 1½ feet to create a small landing and bench on which to sit and put on shoes. The low window also forces the view down into the backyard instead of toward the neighbor’s house. “It gives the impression that you’re not surrounded by houses,” Robertson says.
In the master bedroom, shown here, the floor near the window drops down 1½ feet to create a small landing and bench on which to sit and put on shoes. The low window also forces the view down into the backyard instead of toward the neighbor’s house. “It gives the impression that you’re not surrounded by houses,” Robertson says.
A library at the top of the stairs holds the couple’s collection of architecture and other books.
Rug: Patricia Urquiola
Rug: Patricia Urquiola
The leafy backyard contains a large pressure-treated pine deck that surrounds black gravel.
The free-standing wall was a test pour for the concrete walls that make up the house. The couple turned it into a backing for a fire feature.
These floor plans show the slim nature of the overall layout.
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Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Christopher Robertson and Viv Nguyen, both architects, and their children, Topher, 7, and Mae, 5
Location: Heights neighborhood, Houston
Size: 2,900 square feet (about 269 square meters); three bedrooms, 2½ bathrooms
Robertson and Nguyen used concrete in abundance in their new home, whose design comprises three separate boxes that delineate public and private spaces. A large concrete box 16 feet high holds the kitchen, dining and living spaces. A wooden-clad box sits on top, while a concrete wall intersects the two, creating an overall sculptural, blocky concrete arrangement that’s simple and intriguing. “It creates a sense of mystery,” Robertson says. “You don’t know quite what you’re looking at from the street. We didn’t want it to be too obvious.”
A trip to Japan, where the couple saw a lot of concrete homes and buildings, inspired the austere design. “There’s a real blankness to it,” he says. “We were driven by that, and the sense to keep things more sculptural and less residential looking.”