America’s Top Architects: A Parallel Architecture Defies Gravity On A Hillside Outside Austin
Key takeaways
- Set on a limestone bluff overlooking the Austin skyline, the Terrace Mountain Residence by A Parallel Architecture achieves that contradictory feat.
- “We are increasingly interested in houses that feel deeply rooted in their terrain,” says Ryan Burke, a founding partner of the firm, whose brashly geometric compositions possess a consistent confidence and clarity.
- The site was constrained by a number of factors, including the steep slope, mature trees, and seasonal water that emerged from the limestone and trickled through the property.
ESSENTIALSFirm Name: A Parallel Architecture Principals: Eric Barth, Ryan Burke Headquarters: Austin, Texas Accolades: Forbes Architecture's “America's Best-in-State Residential Architects,” 2025 House Name: Terrace Mountain Residence Location: West Lake Hills, Texas Area & Layout: 5,000 square feet; 3 BR, 4 BAArchitectural Photographers: Chase Daniel (chasedaniel.co), Joe Fletcher (joefletcher.com )Is it possible for a house to feel anchored to the ground, and at the same time, float above it?
Set on a limestone bluff overlooking the Austin skyline, the Terrace Mountain Residence by A Parallel Architecture achieves that contradictory feat. Its muscular stone-and-concrete base seems to sprout from the landscape, while the translucent, cantilevered second floor appears to tiptoe across it atop slender steel columns. The result is a thrilling marriage of solidity and evanescence that binds the residents to both their setting and their surroundings.
“We are increasingly interested in houses that feel deeply rooted in their terrain,” says Ryan Burke, a founding partner of the firm, whose brashly geometric compositions possess a consistent confidence and clarity. “Terrace Mountain is very much a Texas house, but it also belongs to a broader body of work concerned with craft, restraint, permanence, and the relationship between mass and lightness.”