All Axis Pass

Glass and geometry turn a tricky Texas lot into an indoor-outdoor gem

When architect Michael Gooden started designing a house on a wedge-shaped lot in Dallas, Texas, he envisioned something like a slice of American pie – literally.

Categories

Residential

Products

Classic Line
Series 900
Series 600
Multi-Slide Door
Sliding Glass Door
90-degree
Window Wall

Location

Dallas, Texas

To expand the space at the back of the home, architect Michael Gooden used a 15-foot by 10-foot multi-slide door that disappears into pockets.

The modest lot in the Peninsula Neighborhood was a triangle on a slope that narrowed on one side. Gooden, principal of M Gooden Design, solved the dimensional challenge by building on two axes, with a master wing rotated parallel to the property line. He then maximized interior space and created a contemporary aesthetic with windows and moving walls of glass.

“You can see Western Window Systems peppered through almost every element of our design,” Gooden says. “Even in the front façade – the master bedroom wing is off to the left, and we have clerestory windows that are right at the top, and it’s just this ribbon of glass that transitions from the dark gray panel right into the glass. It’s such an integral part of the design.”

Once guests ascend the steps of the tiered landscape and enter the 2,580 square-foot home, they’re greeted by a view through the room to a Series 600 Multi-Slide door that opens the kitchen and entire back wall of the home to a long, rectangular pool deck.

“The site is small, so we had to take advantage of every inch of it,” Gooden says. “There’s not really a backyard because the site tapers down to this really narrow wedge in the back. This allowed us to have this basic L-shaped house, and we tucked this small, linear pool in the side. We have a 15-foot by 10-foot multi-slide door that just pockets away, and it’s a really neat connection. It really does feel like it brings the pool inside. It makes the house feel a lot bigger than it actually is, when you’re able to take that outdoor space as a living area.”

Floor-to-ceiling glass at the front of the home frames a view of the park across the street.

The cantilevered space on the second floor includes a 300 square-foot balcony in the back, accessed through floor-to-ceiling Series 600 Sliding Glass Doors overlooking White Rock Lake. At the front of the home, the cantilevered space is completely transparent through a 90-degree, open corner Series 600 Window Wall that provides an uninterrupted view of the nearby park.

“We were able to work with Western Window Systems and design that system that’s all butt-glazed glass, so there’s no metal or vertical aluminum between the windows. It’s just glass on glass with a joint,” Gooden says. “That allowed us to maximize the visibility out of the space and minimize any disruption in the glass. It’s a really neat space to walk up on. That second level with the window wall turning the corner is pretty dramatic.”

The moving glass walls and window systems also help to create an aesthetic flow throughout the home, Gooden says.

“We love the aluminum look, so we had steel accents inside and outside the house. The window frame went well with all our steel accents,” he says.” The staircase and some of our railings all have this dark gray or black steel accent, and it really played off that. The baseboard detail in this house also has that same dark gray or black from the aluminum frames of the window. It became part of the palette of the house. That’s really why we like using Western Window Systems and not having to go with a wood-clad system where we’ve got to paint the inside.

“We just embraced the steel accents, and the windows tied in with everything else.”