A Renovated Midcentury Gem in Austin

The midcentury cognoscenti in Austin, Texas, know where to spot the houses designed by a man named Arthur Dallas Stenger: dotted throughout a couple of neighborhoods south of the Colorado river, mainly on two streets in the hilly enclave of Rollingwood and another cluster in next-door Barton Hills. Their front elevations include a few hallmarks, like riverstone walls and clerestory windows that rise to meet canted or lightly gabled rooflines, and carports incorporated into the overall plan. Some even call A.D. Stenger the "Eichler of Austin." The designer-builder’s 1964 house on Ridgewood Drive, however, has something extra going for it. Its roof is an undulating affair that rests lightly on its glass-and-steel frame, and the transparent central volume is bookended by symmetrical wings, fronted by riverstone walls, and all set atop a cantilevered concrete foundation.