Texas might be best known for cowboys, wide-open plains, and barbecue, but the Lone Star State is also home to a special style of architecture known as Texas modernism. As the new book Texas Modern: Redefining Houses in the Lone Star State ($60, Images) points out in its introduction by design writer Helen Thompson, Texas became a hub for the technological innovations provided by steel, thanks to the metal’s use in oil-industry machinery. But hardy Texans soon found other uses for the material, not only practically on their ranches, but stylishly in their homes. In the 1920s and ’30s, architects like David Williams and O’Neil Ford pioneered Texas modernism, a movement defined by steel, big windows, limestone, and a straightforward boxiness. As the style grew in popularity during the postwar years (when there was a proliferation of steel), more modern homes popped up around the state. Today, architects still practice the style, like 2016 AD100 firm Lake|Flato, known for its sustainable design. Here, we take a look at seven elegant homes from Texas Modern.
Brookview Residence
