The Heywood Hotel – new, modern, boutique, hotel
There’s a new, modern, boutique hotel in Austin – the Heywood Hotel. It’s along the lines of Kimbermodern, but less expensive. Check out their website HERE and facebook page HERE. FYI the design is that of KRDB.
Let’s hear it for local family owned businesses with modern flair!
A few pics below to spark your interest:
Just for fun – some blogs focused on building modern in austin
Here are some build blogs I check out pretty regularly. I particularly like Austin Cubed as it’s a real life couple going through a real life process of building a modern home in central Austin. Feel free suggest other blogs you know of in the comments section of this entry.
Modern Homes Tour Austin – February 4
The annual Modern Homes Tour of Austin (aka – an organized open house featuring numerous modern homes for sale in Austin) is just around the corner. Click HERE for more info.
some numbers
In the previous post, this comment was made:
(context: this was in response to another comment saying it was a buyers market.)
Think so? Even though buy-vs–rent-ratios are so out of whack?…and despite that homes are still listing for double what they sold for ten years before?
On a very early morning drive this AM to the airport I was wondering what the numbers really were. I know housing pricing hasn’t doubled in raw numbers in the past 10 years and what about the average income, that has surely increased as well? And interest rates, outside of income that is one of the biggest impacts on buyer’s purchasing power.
Here is what I found.
- Median home price growth, 2000 to 2010: +31%
- Median household income, 2000 to 2010: +25%
- Median home price to income ratio growth 2000 to 2010: +4.5% (2.45 to 2.56)
- Average interest rate, 30 year mortgage conventional, 2000 to 2010: - 3.37%
- Median home price growth, 1990 to 2000: +98%
- Median household income, 1990 to 2000: +49%
- Median home price to income ratio growth, 1990 to 2000: +32% (1.85 to 2.45)
- Average interest rate, 30 year mortgage conventional, 1990 to 2000: - 2.12%
Here we see a 30% rise in the cost of buying a home.
Let’s thank our lucky (lone) star that we are not like SF or California as a whole. Even after the ‘crash’, the income to home price ratio for SF is 4 times what it is here and 2.6 times for the state as a whole (including the vast wastelands of places like the island empire).
Within a more recent analytic window, we have seen income growth outstrip home price growth since 2007. Median incomes are up 6%, median home price is up 2% and interest rates have improved by 1.65 points. That means housing is 5.35% more affordable than it was 2007.
Reference data:
http://recenter.tamu.edu/data/hs/hs140.asp
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/demographics/downloads/mfi_10.pdf
http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h15/data/Annual/H15_MORTG_NA.txt
2Modern’s (Modern) Austin City Guide
Adrienne put together a nice little guide to modernish places to visit in the city. It is also a handy guide where to avoid during the annual locust season that is SXSW. :)
“How Austin lives now”
Fake trend article* in the Statesmen about how people are “demanding smaller, greener, more contemporary homes”. Quotes from Jay Hargrave, Dick Clark, Hugh Randolph, and Mark Lind (CG&S). Pictures from a few homes we’ve featured a few times this year.
Perhaps I am jaded but all I hear is the same talk of opening of living space that has gone on since the 50s. Many of the quotes sound like they could be lifted from the Eichler books I have. Yes, there does seem to be an renewed interest in these principles. I am thrilled about that. My concern remains that it will remain niche and reserved to the premium market. The cost premium has undermined widespread adoption of “smaller, greener, more contemporary” building principles before. Tellingly, this article steers well wide of that topic.
*Fake trend articles are made famous by the NY Times which make sweeping statements about the changing trends yet offer no actual data save a few choice quotes. I always picture them as the result of idle chatter over a few drinks.
Event Reminders
Don’t forget that this Friday is Modern Austin’s 1st (timeframe not defined) Meet-up. 6pm @ San Jose Hotel. Right now, it looks like the weather will be very lovely for outdoor drinks and conversation.
This weekend is the AIA Austin Homes Tour. Homes by Alter Studios, Dick Clark, Cottam Hargrave, CG&S, among others.
1st (timeframe not defined) Modern Austin Meet-up
photo by davisayer
When I first moved to Austin, the forum at LiveModern was my entry point into what was going on locally. The forum nowadays is a ghost town for the most part. One of the lasting impacts (for me at least) were the semi-regular meet-ups that occurred. It was through there I meet people like Chuck Voelter (artist, Stenger fan extraordinaire), Mark Meyer, Karen Pittman, among others. That lead, in part, to me starting modernaustin.com which through I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many more great people.
So now that the season of death rays is drawing to close, I think it is time we revive this tradition.
1st (timeframe not defined) Modern Austin Meet-up
- Date: Friday, Oct 1st, 2010
- Time: 6pm to 8pm
- Location: San Jose Hotel (click for map)*
For the first one, I think a casual evening of drinks and chit chat is a good place to start. If this is something people like, and only a modest amount of blood and tears are shed, I have some ideas for topical / event style meet-ups (tour a house with the architect / builder, etc).
*If the weather looks like it won’t cooperate, I will announce an indoor location a few days before hand.
AIA Austin Tour 2010
The 2010 AIA Austin tour is October 2-3. Another great line-up including:
Alterstudio Architects, LLP
Bercy Chen Studio, LP
CG&S Design-Build
Chris Lewis Architects
Cottam Hargrave
Dick Clark Architecture
Hugh Jefferson Randolph Architects
John Mayfield Architect
James D. LaRue Architects
Nick Deaver Architect
Third:Land, Inc.
Webber + Studio
Of particular interest is the Cottam Hargrave place (pictured). Long time readers may remember that the owners requested input on the design from modernaustin readers. Additional feedback came in over at InspiredAustin.com (thankfully my readers don’t require bribing). More pictures on the completed project can be found over at cottamhargrave.com.
Tickets will go on sale September 1st. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 the weekend of the tour. Tickets may be purchased by credit card at AIA Austin and by cash/check at Zinger Hardware and 5 Elements Furniture.
smaller in texas
Since the MLS isn’t providing much new lately, here is a dwell photo essay called “smaller in texas” feature a container guesthouse in San Antonio. While shipping container as an architectural base isn’t particularly new, it really has taken off in the later half of the past decade.
Mark Meyer has received plenty of positive review for his La Boite Cafe design (it certainly helps that the cafe is itself is quite good on the food & drink front as well) and is now working on sushiBox.
1815 Dexter – AD Stenger
Great photo blog of one man’s journey remodeling an AD Stenger home. Looks like it is coming along nice and can’t wait to see it mostly finished (no home is ever ‘finished’ it seems). Above is the ‘before’ picture, I believe.
Tour de Zidell
The common thread between the Tour de France and the Lundgren & Mauer home (located in Taylor, Tx) is one Brent Humphreys. Brent has put together a nice website on the history of the home: The Zidell House.
Brent is an amazing photographer with a long history of cycling photography. For this year’s tour he put together a great photolog: Project Le Tour (warning, flash website).
PS. Brent if you read this, I still get your mail, you may want to update your address again 
Dollahite House by Rural Theory
You may recall that this house was for sale about 18 months ago (and didn’t last long on the market). Apparently, it was featured in Dwell the prior fall. Here is the article and picture show from Dwell.
Many more additional pictures and info at Rural Theory (owners, designers and builders)
M. Meyer’s Apartment on AT
Mark Meyer’s mid-century apartment was profiled on Apartment Therapy today. Check out Mark’s design work for clients at his blog here.
MetroHouse?
I’ve received a handful of inquiry about MetroHouse in the past few weeks. It seems their website has gone MIA. Anyone know something more?
I know the zone changes really changed Dean’s business model, along with the reduced availability of urban infill lots at semi-reasonable prices. He did some of the better multi-house work in central Austin over the years so I’d hate to see him no longer building.
2010 OPEN ARCHITECTURE
Saturday, May 1, 2010
1:00 – 5:00PM
Join the members of AIA Austin in the event, an “open house” of twenty-two Architects’ Studios in the Downtown Area. See where and how the magic happens inside these creative downtown businesses, hear plans for future projects and developments straight from the Architects themselves and experience the unique styles and personalities of each studio. Maps will be provided so you may tour the studios at your own pace (to print your own map). Refreshments will be served.
Tickets – $5.00 wristband.
Presale tickets are available through PayPal via the AIA Austin website.
If you purchased tickets online, your tickets will be available for pick up at AIA Austin the day of the tour.
Tickets are for sale the day of the tour at AIA Austin only, 801 W. 12th Street (cash/check/credit).
All proceeds benefit Casa Verde Builders – a service program of American YouthWorks
Austin Outdoor Living Tour
The Austin Outdoor Living Tour is this Saturday, April 17, 2010, from 10 AM to 6 PM. My good friends at modern pools have two beautiful designs on the tour, one of which is part of an amazing Cottam Hargrave designed home (pictured above). This alone would probably be worth the $12 ticket!
Full details are here: outdoorlivingtouraustin.com
Tickets are $12 in advance, $20 on the day of the tour.
E 11th – $374k
This follows a design I’ve seen a few times, all on the east side: the very monolithic ground floor with few or no windows. Some of no ground level access except through a garage. Some like this have their access inside the fence line.
I know why they think they need to build like this but I really wonder what it does for the neighborhood in the long term. The benign way to look at it is this is no different than what you see in many places like Mexico or traditional Japan with the fortress exterior around an interior courtyard or private space. The less kind way is that it undermines the social street concept and encourages people to hide indoors away from their community.
AIA Austin – Open Architecture
Join the members of AIA Austin in our second installment of Open Architecture. This year’s self-guided tour will focus on downtown Austin architecture studios. See where and how the magic happens inside these creative downtown businesses, hear plans for future projects and developments straight from the Architects themselves and experience the unique styles and personalities of each studio. Maps will be provided so you may tour the studios at your own pace. Refreshments will be served at each space.
WHEN: Saturday, May 1
1p.m. – 5p.m.
WHERE: A self-guided walking/biking/driving tour through Downtown Austin Free parking is available in the T. Stacy Parking Garage (with validation)
TICKETS: Tickets to Open Architecture Downtown are $5. All ticket proceeds from the tour will benefit Casa Verde Builders – a service program of American YouthWorks that trains youth in green building practices.
More info & how to buy tickets.
Roundup and NYC
I am a bit surprised at how little new and interesting listings where among the 500+ new listings I just sifted through since the last time I checked. Here are a handful that in more plentiful times probably would have gone unremarked. Please let me know if I missed anything good recently.
E 9th (only listed as a warning of what not to build and call it modern.)
3707 Stevenson (pay $750k, spend ??? updating it to make it modernish).
—-
I spent a lovely time in NYC recently. We stayed in the Cooper Square Hotel which is modern, lovely, extremely good service but leaves one expecting an unhappyhipster photo shoot to break out at any moment.
photo http://www.thecoopersquarehotel.com/category/the-hotel
Next door to the hotel is the Cooper Union hall, designed by Thom Mayne (Morphosis).
photo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:New_Academic_Building_Exterior.jpg
Not modernist in any way but still full of awesomeness, we caught Spoon at Radio City Music Hall.
photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/evitalephotography/