Designed by Berry Chen Architects, Edgeland House is a re‐interpretation of one of the North American oldest housing typologies, the Native American Pit House. Located on a rehabilitated brownfield site in Austin, Texas, USA, the house was completed in 2012.
The Pit House, typically sunken, takes advantage of the earth’s mass to maintain thermal comfort throughout the year. Like this timeless dwelling, the Edgeland House’s insulative green roof and 7‐foot excavation into the ground, keeps it cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The mechanical system combines: hydronic heating and a green roof for maximum energy efficiency.
Edgeland House is about healing the land and ameliorating the scars of the site’s industrial past. The project raises awareness about a diminishing natural landscape and its finite resources by creating a balance between the surrounding industrial zone and the natural river residing on the opposite side of the site.
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center collaborated to reintroduce over 40 native species of plants and wildflowers to the Edgeland House green roof and site, serving to help protect the local ecosystem.
— Berry Chen Architects
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Photographs by Berry Chen Architects, Paul Bardagjy
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