Texas Architect

Farley Studio

PROJECT Farley Studio, Cleburne
CLIENT Kyle and Angela Farley
ARCHITECT M.J. Neal Architects
DESIGN TEAM M.J. Neal, AIA
PHOTOGRAPHER Viviane Vives; M.J. Neal, AIA

After a chance encounter in a Fort Worth bar, things turned out pretty well for Kyle and Angela Farley. It was there the bartender introduced Kyle, a golfer and artist, to MJ Neal, AIA, who just happened to be teaching a design studio at the University of Texas at Arlington. The Farley's owned property outside of Cleburne, about a half-hour's drive south of Fort Worth, and wanted to build a residence and painting studio. The Austin architect was happy to oblige the Farleys by designing a place for Kyle to spread out and paint.

Although less than two acres, the site has a distinctly rural feel, being at the end of a long, winding road. Upon passing through the last stand of large post oaks, the dirt drive leads to an existing pond and fields and sky beyond. It's the sort of generic north central Texas countryside where houses coexist with storage buildings, fencing, and livestock. During the day, wildlife and wildflowers provide a focus for the eye. One can also see - and feel - the weather changing. At nighttime, darkness envelops the landscape beneath a big expanse of sky. Angela, an accountant who commutes 150 miles each day, looks forward to the respite of the peaceful destination, notwithstanding the occasional firework salvo from the not-quite-distant-enough yahoos. Apart from broadcasting native wildflower seeds and thinking about a future installation of artwork, the Farleys have made a conscious decision to leave the natural palette as they found it.

To respect the site and accommodate a challenging budget, the goal was to simplify. The program consists of only the essentials?living room, kitchen, powder room, and studio on the ground floor with a bedroom and bath above. Equally important was a simple, strong design concept. According to Neal, "If you have a strong concept and the idea is simple, the project transcends." And transcend it does. By day, the building is a straightforward, linear metal-and-glass box that shares the site with only the existing native vegetation, pond, stock tank, and windmill. At night, however, it appears to levitate and float above the landscape.

Simple materials, employed conceptually, express individual building systems. A slot in the concrete slab serves as a fire pit (set on axis with the existing stock tank). Another slot within the studio space collects the sand and gravel Kyle uses in his art. At the back porch, steps cast into the slab overhang slightly to reveal the edge. Atop the slab stands a prefabricated steel superstructure reminiscent of an off-the-shelf metal building, which imparts a rhythm and reference to experience the interior spaces. Six-inch-thick enameled-metal structural insulated panels (SIPs) are affixed with screws to the steel structure for enclosure and protection. A skin of corrugated, galvanized steel shields the structure from the elements with no apparent trim.

Translucent polycarbonate panels are attached to wood studs on the east and north side walls and soffits. The translucency of the panels creates a delightful ambiguity. At different times of the day they allow light in and/or out?sometimes they seem opaque, sometimes not. Suspended from a cantilevered steel beam, a sliding panel opens the studio to the outdoors and allows Kyle to work at a larger scale than before. The panels change personality whether they are lit from the front or back, and panels in the same space can be lit from different directions at the same time. This performance, a visual ode to polycarbonate, is best experienced as dusk slips into night.

On the second floor, bar grating appears to be suspended in space, and defines another slot for circulation, storage, and north-side soffit light filter. Like the polycarbonate panels, the grating also manifests multiple readings. Aside from its usage, the material has different degrees of opacity depending upon the angle of view. As handy storage, everything is visible from the side, above, and below. The west wall is glazed from top to bottom in blue-tinted solar glass, imbuing the sky and landscape with a sort of Oz sensation minus the Munchkins. The same glass is used on the south side and is shielded by the corrugated, galvanized steel skin. Long, low windows on the south side reveal views of knees, ankles, and nearby vegetation. A secondary steel structure defines the west patio and fire pit area, and frames the starry night. Plans for a suspended metal screen will allow Kyle and Angela to fine-tune this exterior space.

In the middle of the building, separating the studio from the living room, stands the metaphorical Chinese box. The box sits as an object in space. Originally designed as cedar but constructed from southern yellow pine plywood, the Farleys' Chinese box contains the kitchen, powder room, and stairs on the first floor, with the master suite above. According to Neal, the ancient Chinese crafted puzzle-like containers to hold valuables accessed by sliding panels or secret compartments. Here, sliding panels reveal or conceal the kitchen counter. Other openings slide, pivot, or pocket as desired to open or close spaces. Not only does the box contain the Farleys important possessions, it also contains air?the 600-sq.-ft. box is the only mechanically air-conditioned space. When opened, the conditioned air bleeds out; when closed, it stays in the box. Conserving energy is important to Neal, thus the SIPs serve as a thermal umbrella and air is encouraged to circulate through the building from end to end. The Farleys plan to add a large, low-velocity fan to improve the air circulation. When ambient air breezes through the home, the Farleys and their guests are truly in touch with the natural world.

The Design Awards jury admired the building's relation to the landscape, and especially appreciated the nighttime transformation. "The evening view of this project," remarked Brigitte Shim, "where you read it as a metal box almost levitating off of the landscape, was powerful as an image because it talked about how the transformation of the building from day to night? and the way the glazing has a mute, almost solid quality, and how that transforms at night to allow this metal box to levitate in the landscape was really poetic." The jury also praised the architect for his appropriate use of modest materials to compose, in the words of juror Peter Bohlin, FAIA, "a terrific building," adding, "The quality of light is terrific. The detailing is pretty darn flawless. It's emotionally compelling. We admired it greatly and there was no question that this should receive an award from the first moment we saw the building."

--Richard Wintersole, AIA, practices architecture in Aledo.