Here’s Every Stop at the 2025 Edition of Austin’s Famous Homes Tour
Each October, AIA Austin welcomes visitors from across the country to get an up close look at the city’s freshest ideas in home design. This year’s event, the 39th running, returns on October 25 and 26 with 10 unique new residences, each with its own perspective on what it means to build or renovate in one of the fastest growing cities in the country.
The homes range from a midcentury-modern renovation of a 1980s model home, a historic bungalow renovation that adds a monolithic concrete ADU, a glamorous new build that takes its cues from New York’s architectural landscape, and an ADU-as-primary-residence that explores an alternative, and perhaps futuristic, way of living in the city.
Participants attending the event later this month in Texas will chart their own courses through various neighborhoods to see these homes, with a chance to meet the architects and designers who brought them to life. Keep reading for an early look at this year’s featured residences.
Casa Colibri by Ravel Architecture
This 4,000-square-foot home is imagined as a quiet retreat tucked into a hillside. The lower level is carved into a natural slope, a gesture that blends the architecture into the landscape and preserves a surrounding tree canopy. The upper floor extends into the treetops, creating a luminous, calm environment that’s akin to a modern terrarium.
Govalle Homestead by Russ Design Studio
The renovation of this 1938 East Austin home creates two contemporary structures designed to accommodate three generations of family on a single lot. The street-facing primary home features a preserved facade that blends with the historic neighborhood, while the new rear structure is a distinctly contemporary addition with a Cor-Ten steel envelope.
Harvey House by Side Angle Side
Tasked with remodeling a 1935 bungalow and designing a new ADU in the historic Rosewood neighborhood, Side Angle Side turned to archival photos and architectural drawings to rebuild the historic structure while inserting a contemporary yet contextually appropriate addition. Salvaged materials from the existing house reappear throughout, preserving the character of the original home.
This highly efficient ADU-as-primary-residence makes the most of its compact site within a dense neighborhood. Since the home is situated on an alley with foot traffic, architecture firm Specht Novak eschewed perimeter windows for the 1,100-square-foot plan—but the interiors are anything but dark or cramped. Inward-facing glazing frames two internal courtyards, bringing in natural light.
Sterling Cooper Residence by Candace Wong Architecture + Design
Originally built in 1981 as a modular model home, this Acorn Deck House felt dated and underutilized. A renovation by Candace Wong Architecture + Design inspired by the midcentury cool of AMC’s Mad Men lends it a modern and bright interior, while new architectural decisions create an open layout and a series of exterior spaces, including a floating stair and an infinity pool.
Sugar Creek Residence by Mell Lawrence Architects
This renovation and addition reimagines an existing home and creates a new guest house, both of which are aesthetically rooted in the wooded, sloping site. The updated home’s design focuses on transparency, with a new unimpeded ceiling on the second level that dramatically opens up the interior. The guest house, in contrast, is a concrete structure that visually connects to the main home’s concrete base.
Timberline Residence by A|Parallel Architecture
Located just a few minutes from downtown Austin, this home for a growing family is centered around an active, sunny courtyard—a safe, central place for children to play. The material palette draws from the Texas landscape, pairing locally quarried limestone walls with responsibly sourced cedar siding that will weather gracefully over time.
Travis Heights Residence by Studio Momentum
The ground-up residence by Studio Momentum is sited around a large live oak tree, shaping a quiet, shaded courtyard between it and a new ADU. The street-facing exterior reflects the area’s historic vernacular through its scale and materiality, while the modern interiors are infused with personality through antique and reclaimed furniture in every room.
Valburn Residence by Hugh Jefferson Randolph Architects
This surprising home is the byproduct of a challenging site and open-minded owner interested in recreating the varied urban environments of New York, his longtime home. Hugh Jefferson Randolph Architects’s design process researched everything from high-rise penthouses and downtown lofts to city alleys, while keeping the architecturally traditional context in mind. The exterior presents as a low-slung brick building, while in contrast, the interior features large swathes of glass and sweeping views.
Vista Lane by Cuppett Kilpatrick Architecture + Interior Design
Vista Lane is both restrained and contemporary, yet warm and traditional. Precisely detailed and stripped of ornament, it provides a backdrop of approachable rigor to the comings and goings of daily life. Cuppett Kilpatrick Architecture + Interior Design opted for gentle curves and rolled edges rather than standard moldings, infusing the interior with a layer of softness.
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