Bryan Showcase House

15-first1The structure of the house is predominately light wood framing. However, there are a few elements that turn away from the traditional construction found near the site for this showcase house for the Community Development building in Bryan, Texas. The house revolves around two interior concrete walls that support two key factors of design in the main living area.

First, the wall is able to support the cantilevered beams that form the steps to the second floor. Second, the walls support two twenty-eight foot span I-beam that allows for the large openings in the high ceiling living room: a partition wall that opens up the space to a covered outdoor lounge area and a series of large windows featuring an exterior louver system.

Softwood pine is not traditionally a used for flooring, but by coating the wood with either tung oil or boiled linseed oil prior to finishing will fill the pores, which makes eastern white pine so soft. Another method would be multilayering with polyurethane, one of the hardest finishing materials available. The siding of the house is almost entirely stained pine, so long cantilevered overhangs from the roof have been placed in order to prot15-first-2ect it from minor weathering.

As for the architecture itself, the layout has been designed to be a showcase house for the City of Bryan Department of Community Development. The site is located to their department headquarters in downtown Bryan, Texas. The residence is a three bedroom, two and a half bath hybrid of contemporary and traditional Texas architecture. It features a high ceilings in the main living spaces with a clerestory, a bedroom with a window seat, sunroom/dining room, and wet bar. Eastern white pine makes up at least seventy five percent of the total materials of the house. Other predominant materials include concrete and some steel.

Author

Jack Searcy

Organization

Texas A&M