This home is On an oak-treed, corner lot in the luxury San Antonio neighborhood, Inverness, is a most contemporary home sitting seven feet above the natural grade. The spacious
4,200-square-foot, one-story floorplan with three bedrooms, providing construction detailing throughout the build.
The firm, known for its refined modern architecture, worked closely with their clients, a professional couple that were active in the project, says JMS principal and architect, Joseph Smith. “They are very passionate about design and we worked well together on the design of the home — to a point that the client carried an early floorplan/sketch of the home and each time a change was considered he’d revert back to the initial sketch and typically stay with the initial inspiration.”
Functionality was key to the home’s design, Smith adds, “Keeping with the firm’s philosophy of form follows function, the home exterior façades are a product of the homes functions.” From the street, linear stone steps lead to floating concrete steps which rise to a covered front porch with expansive glass accentuating the steel-framed entry. A stone parapet façade is interrupted with metal channels allowing drainage for the low slope roof, while clerestories formed in a lighter metal cladding reach to the north with a pronounced roof overhang. A glass entry appears as a floating bridge designating the home’s entrance. It’s the first of many such glass details. “We were inspired by factory buildings with simple north facing clerestories — the clerestories were introduced to provide natural light into all the living spaces and bedrooms,” explains Smith. Wrapped in grey stone walls, the home is punctuated by expansive glass openings and metal clad walls. A stone wall on the opposite side of the floating entry leads to the main living space which anchors the outdoor courtyard space, a secluded area which was pivotal to the overall design. “As a courtyard design, the focus of the living spaces are inward. The clients requested privacy which the courtyard design affords,” says Smith.