The Alta Vista Residence slips quietly into Austin’s Travis Heights neighborhood, positioned at the edge of the Blunn Creek escarpment and carefully threaded between several mature live oaks. From the street, a delicate roof floats above a vertical board-formed concrete wall, defining the entry and carport while preserving privacy and maintaining a measured engagement with the neighborhood.

Set against this concrete backdrop, a magnificent front oak anchors the arrival. Beyond, the interiors open fully to the outdoors and into the canopy of two additional oaks. A 24-foot wall of sliding glass panels disappears into a pocket, dissolving the boundary between the elevated main room—ten feet above grade—and the lush, newly formed private landscape below.

A 600-square-foot accessory dwelling unit, along with 1,300 square feet discreetly tucked beneath the main level, take advantage of the site’s natural slope (and Austin’s FAR exemptions), embedding the lower spaces into the hillside and connecting them to the terrain beyond. Above, a third-floor room captures long views, subtly extending the experience beyond this secluded, inward-looking domain.