Industrial Concrete Volumes Contrast With Minimal Glass Facades in Dallas Home
This impressive new build in Dallas, Texas, draws inspiration from the shape of the modern-day capital city to create an expansive family home. Large orthogonal elevations of concrete and slim steel supports are contrasted with extensive sliding glass facades used throughout the home to create a series of brightly lit, minimal living spaces.
Small internal courtyards and grassy spaces are interspersed between the hard-edged shapes and overhangs of the angular building, creating a softer balance of natural light and nature. To the front, a large lake lined with autumnal trees enhances the sense of rural seclusion with the sky reflected in the glass surface.
Oversized, slim framed sliding doors were chosen for the ambitious project, as their slim aluminium profiles and stainless steel wheels integrated into the base track allow for bespoke, oversized sliding configurations to be created. Each of the outer frames was concealed within the building finishes to create a near frameless effect, while the minimal sightlines between each sliding pane work in counterbalancing the weight of the surrounding concrete elevation.
The visible sections of the frame have been powder coated in metallic silver, to fit the same cohesive pale concrete and bright white walls used throughout the home. Together with the large expanse of glass that can be found across many of the external and internal elevations of the home, the minimal glazing ensures each of the open plan living spaces is brightly lit and inviting throughout the day.
Double glazed doors with a fully thermally broken frame were a necessary addition for the project, given the large amounts of concrete used which has a much lower thermal efficiency than traditional brick walls. The high thermal performance of the oversized sliding door system minimises heat loss from the internal spaces.
A solar control coating was also applied to the face of each of the sliding doors, as many of the rooms have fully glazed facades making up two or more of the walls. While this results in a huge influx of natural light, a lack of additional solar protection can result in excessive overheating during the hotter months. Specifying solar control glass ensures that the majority of the sun’s infrared rays are reflected back out into the atmosphere, rather than entering the room.
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