Inverse House is a contemporary residence located in Austin, Texas, redesigned in 2020 by Matt Fajkus Architecture.

Description
The Inverse House is a major renovation of a dwelling located along the fairway of the 14th hole of Austin Country Club?s golf course. This home challenges the typology of an ordinary two-story house by inverting the relationship between public and private. First, the common living, kitchen, and dining areas are elevated to the second floor while private family spaces are tucked below. Second, these spaces look out to the active public space of the golf course, instead of a private backyard.
Additionally, the design of Inverse House reimagines the existing house?s main features as their opposites. The gable roofline became a butterfly. The public kitchen and dining areas swapped locations with the private owners? suite. Formerly indoor space became an outdoor patio. These inversions recast a formerly dark, segmented interior into a clean-lined, open plan, characterized by dynamic natural light. Homeowner?s association guidelines required mostly opaque stone party walls on two sides of the house, so bringing in natural light became the experiential driver for the design. Inverting the gable roof allowed clerestory windows to be added on the east and west sides of the house, bringing sunlight deeper into the footprint. The interior functions of the home were pulled away from the exterior walls to create light wells that serve as...