Sundial House Featured in Santa Fe Modern
Our Sundial House is featured in the latest book by Helen Thompson, Santa Fe Modern, with photos by Casey Dunn. Order a copy to see the inspiring projects scattered amongst the diverse landscape of New Mexico. Published by Monacelli Press and distributed by Penguin Random House. Order here.
History of the WindCatcher
“Before fossil-fuel powered air-conditioning became widely available, people living in harsh climates had nothing but natural means to ventilate their spaces and control the interior temperature. To do so, they took into account several external factors such as their location, orientation with respect to the sun and wind, their area’s climate conditions, and local materials.” […]
Casa Xixim on Netflix
Check out our project Casa Xixim featured on the eco friendly episode of Netflix’s The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals. The show’s host walk through the amazing environmental features of the beachfront, luxury, vacation rental. Watch now.
We’re Hiring
We’re hiring an experienced architectural designer with 5-7 years of experience in the Austin, TX or Dallas, TX area. To learn more, please see the full job description, here. We are also looking for a local full or part-time intern to assist in our design creation. If you are interested in either role, […]
Stealth House—designed to stand out or blend in
Many parcels of land in growing metropolitan areas don’t naturally lend themselves to residential uses. In urban and denser suburban areas there are disused industrial sites, low-density warehouse zones, abandoned retail sites, parcels next to highways, alley lots, and other seemingly unappealing places to live. Exurban areas also have plenty of fringe properties that lack desirable […]
Specht Architects Named Among Austin’s Best by Austin Home
We are humbled to be acknowledged as one of “Austin’s Best Architects” by Austin Home Magazine. It is an honor to be recognized by the homeowners and industry professionals who voted on the list. Check out the entire list of amazing studios, here.
Indeed Lobby Wins Austin Home Commercial Design Award
Austin Home magazine recognizes exceptional work in the Austin area across a variety of categories. We are honored that among the amazing talent, our Indeed Austin design won the Commercial Design – Lobby category. Additionally our Carpenter Hotel project was a finalist for the Commercial Design – Building Architecture category. Watch the virtual awards ceremony […]
SEU Athletic Center Wins NIRSA Outstanding Facility Award
Our latest project with St. Edwards University won an Outstanding Facilities Award from NIRSA. Our work involved a renovation and addition to their existing athletic center to create an improved facility for athletics and recreation. The National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association recognizes spaces that demonstrate excellence in a number of critical areas, including architectural design, functionality, […]
Carpenter Hotel Wins Preservation Award for Rehabilitation and Addition
Adapting existing structures is an important part of architecture and the longevity of our planet. We are honored that our Carpenter Hotel project was selected for a Preservation Merit Award by Preservation Austin. These awards recognize ambitious and innovative approaches in preserving the city’s unique architectural, cultural and environmental heritage. Check out the other […]
Sangre de Cristo House Wins 2020 TxA Award
We’re pleased to announce that our Sangre de Cristo House has won a 2020 design award from the Texas Society of Architects. This award honors architectural work of all scales, and we’re thrilled that our project was one of the few private residences to have been selected. If you’d like to take a look […]
Preston Hollow Residence Wins Record Houses 2020
Our newly-completed Preston Hollow Residence was selected as one of 2020’s “Record Houses” by Architectural Record Magazine. This is quite an honor, as only seven houses are selected each year in all of North America. Architectural Record has been published since 1891, and is the primary documentary record of the architectural profession. You can […]
2019 AIA Design Award Winners
We’re thrilled to announce that three of our projects just received Design Awards from the American Institute of Architects. The Sangre de Cristo House, Carpenter Hotel, and Casa Xixim were featured at the awards ceremony in Austin, with Casa Xixim receiving additional recognition for excellence in sustainability. We want to thank our great clients and […]
Travel and Leisure “Best New Hotels of 2019”
The Carpenter Hotel in Austin was just named one of the “best new hotels in the world” by Travel and Leisure Magazine. It’s a very “Austin” place – an assemblage of new and old buildings that is centered around a renovated 1949 Carpenter’s Union hall and surrounded by heritage pecan trees. Take a look here: […]
2018 A-List Award Winner
We’re proud to be a recent recipient of an A-list award from @home magazine. This award is given to outstanding achievements in architecture and design in Connecticut and beyond. Our New Canaan House was selected as the winner in the “Renovation / Modern” category, and our Weston Residence was a finalist in the “Modern Architecture” […]
New zeroHouse Model 3
We’ve updated and improved the original zeroHouse! It’s now larger and more appropriate for full-time occupancy, yet still retains its iconic design and wide variety of sustainability options. This all-new zeroHouse Model 3 defines the future of comfortable compact living. We are currently developing several zeroHouse Model 3 versions for sites in Austin, Texas, […]
C-Frame Home in Fort Worth, TX
Here’s an early rendering of our new C-Frame house in Fort Worth, TX. This C-Frame home was designed with deeply shaded terraces to minimize direct sun within the interior, while allowing for a lot of covered outdoor living space. The house is cantilevered over, and opens out onto a beautiful rolling meadow and a stream […]
Pier drilling at the Carpenter
The big machines are out this week at the site of our Carpenter Hotel. Pier drilling has started, and these augers are boring out 36″ wide, 60′ deep holes that will soon be filled with steel and concrete. The Carpenter will feature a new four-story hotel, as well as a restaurant complex in an adjacent […]
New Radbrook Home
We’ve just received design approval for this dynamic new home in Dallas, and will start construction in a few months. The house features a very private street-facing facade clad in hand-made Roman brick, and a bright, open, double-height interior with 20’ceilings in the main living spaces. We’ll post more renderings of the design soon.
Progress at Preston Hollow
Our Preston Hollow house in Dallas is progressing nicely. It features a custom-corrugated concrete wall that will be almost 14′ high and 225′ long when complete. The test sample of the concrete patterning was just unveiled and looks exactly like we’d hoped. If you’d like to see some renderings of the finished house, you can […]
Sundial House Receives Award
We’re proud to announce that our Sundial House in Santa Fe has won this year’s Jeff Harnar Award for Contemporary Architecture, sponsored by the Thornburg Foundation, and the University of New Mexico. The prize is given to a single work of architecture in New Mexico that represents the best in modern design, and expresses a […]