No Bars Hold
The Inside Out
Words by Jessi Devenyns Photos by Leonid Furmansky
What more could a writer want than an expansive sunny window overlooking a grove of trees from which to catalyze creativity?
At just over 1500 square feet, Alejandro Puyana’s home is centered around his creative space. A protruding window forms an alcove that simultaneously nests a desk and serves as a screen for the writer as he watches inspiration from the outside world drift by. Around this sunny lens is a built-in bookshelf that bookends the home with colorful tomes and knowledge that spans Alejandro’s two cultures.
As a Venezuelan native, Alejandro describes his memories of architecture in Caracas where flat walls are splashed with radiant hues, and open windows dominate facades, thanks to temperatures that are conducive to living outside year round. This ingrained affection for open air spaces coupled with a lower threshold for privacy inspired Alejandro to work with Murray Legge of Murray Legge Architecture to construct a home whose design serves a welcome sign to the world.
The home itself is a second story space that forms a circle where each left-hand turn progressively leads into more intimate territory. However, allowing visitors to drift into his life doesn’t seem to bother Alejandro. “From the very beginning, Murray and I talked about me not being an extremely private person and not being extremely concerned about [isolation],” he explains while gesturing to the obvious embodiment of the home’s lack of seclusion from the neighborhood.
On the south side of the structure is a porch that spans the entire length of the home and is divided from the interior living space by a panel of glass doors, which Alejandro demonstrates are just as often left open as they are shut. “Where I grew up, houses are usually very open because the climate is so nice,” he grins. “So I knew I wanted a lot of fresh air here and a lot of air circulation in the front of the house.”
By contrast, the exterior face of the porch is clad in cutout bars that permit air and dappled sunlight to reach the living spaces while thinly veiling any porch inhabitants from view. Again, the limited privacy that the construction affords doesn’t ruffle Alejandro. In fact, he clarifies that having an open window to the world encourages creativity and inspiration to flow.
In addition to his own upper-level abode, Alejandro has a garage studio downstairs that is often used as a temporary living space for friends and family who are visiting Austin from all corners of the globe. Although no longer his, a second home that he constructed on the property sits on the back side of the lot.
By using a creative combination of materials and space optimization, Alejandro was able to design purposefully to maximize his economies. The result is an affordable, design-forward structure that calls attention to its creative lines. For Alejandro, however, it is simply his dream home.
Contact:
Murray Legge Architecture
(512) 596-2933
1701 Emilie Lane, Unit B
murraylegge.com
