Falling Leaves by Bercy Chen Studio

With its sheltering pavilion roofs inspired by the shapes and curled edges of falling oak leaves, Falling Leaves by Bercy Chen Studio embraces its natural surroundings in the most resolved way.

Perched seamlessly on four hectares of heavily forested landscape and marked by large rocky outcrops and a burbling stream, it’s almost impossible to comprehend that Falling Leaves sits in a densely populated suburban pocket of Austin, Texas, rather than in a swathe of untamed backcountry. It’s a testament to the skill of Bercy Chen Studio that the family residence evokes something wild in a distinctly suburban setting.

“The site is a remnant of a parcel of land that lies within a suburban neighbourhood that was left untouched.”

“The site is a remnant of a parcel of land that lies within a suburban neighbourhood that was left untouched – perhaps because it was seen as a site too challenging to build on for a subdivision,” says the studio’s co-founder, Thomas Bercy. “It’s a parcel with a great density corridor of nature and a living ecosystem of cedars, oaks, mule deer and the endangered golden-cheeked warbler.”

Given such a pristine environment, treading lightly was a priority for both the client and architect. “From the first visit, it was about striving for a lightness on the site, and strategising about how the home could be situated within the dynamic topography was essential,” says Bercy. “To filter it from the surrounding, busier suburban neighbourhood, we opted to place the home deeper within the property. Working with the topography and utilising the natural limestone shelf above the creek also presented an advantageous opportunity to orientate the home.”

The client envisioned a home that was very open to the sublime landscape, offered privacy and would work equally well catering to large crowds and intimate gatherings.

The client envisioned a home that was very open to the sublime landscape, offered privacy and would work equally well catering to large crowds and intimate gatherings. To bring that vision to life, Bercy Chen Studio created a series of three pavilions, each with its own character and orientation. The living wing, set perpendicular to the cliff face, cantilevers into the canopy of trees to seemingly float above the creek below; the bedroom wing has expansive glass walls and is connected to the living pavilion by a concealed corridor; the pool house, anchored by a linear lap pool, is perched on the exposed limestone shelf. At the centre is a courtyard and firepit that also frames the stone, where “the family can experience the four elements of nature binding the home together: the earth’s embrace, the wind rustling through the trees, the babbling brook below and the warmth of the hearth.”

The studio opted for an external materiality that was simple and didn’t distract from the relationship between the architecture and the natural surroundings. “The black cladding is a cedar tongue-and-groove siding with a black tar finish that provided the reserved pallet we were looking for,” says Bercy. “Douglas fir glulam beams offer a contrasting warmth to the dark colour palette, and the double-lock, 24-gauge standing seam roof was an ideal material application to help us achieve the precise hyperbolic roof form of the three pavilions.”

“The family can experience the four elements of nature binding the home together: the earth’s embrace, the wind rustling through the trees, the babbling brook below and the warmth of the hearth.”

Unsurprisingly, considering the sublime environment, indoor-outdoor connection was central to the design. “The connection was considered from the very beginning while conceptualising the transition between programs and how these spaces could best experience the site. Situating the living and bedroom pavilions with openness towards views of the lush tree canopy and creek below made the most sense.”

Immersed in trees, surrounded by stone and bordered by a stream, and with a design that facilitates the best of indoor-outdoor living, Falling Leaves offers a unique experience with nature while being firmly embedded in suburbia.

Architecture and build by Bercy Chen Studio.