Dissonant House
The Dissonant House is a 5,500 SqFt Dallas home that blends a restored 1939 farmhouse with bold modern additions.
Completed
2021
Project Type
Renovation + Addition
Space
5,500 SF
Rooms
5 Bed, 4 Bath
The Dissonant House is a 5,500 SqFt Dallas home that blends a restored 1939 farmhouse with bold modern additions.
2021
Renovation + Addition
5,500 SF
5 Bed, 4 Bath
A central aspect to creating a work of art that moves human emotion hinges on the opposing emotions of tension and resolution. Key components of this contrast are the concepts of dissonance and consonance. In music, composers often use dissonance to create tension and excitement, while consonance creates stability.
fig.
01 — Original farmhouse
fig.
02 — New addition overlooking landscape
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A composer’s process of creating imbalance through dissonant chords and resolving the tension through consonance helps to create a deeply moving piece.
Dissonant House is a composition of many parts built around the central core, a 1,400 square foot masonry-clad farmhouse built in 1939. Two previous additions to the structure from the 1960s and 1980s were peeled away from the original house during the revisioning and restoration project.
The renovation of a third “contemporary” addition, which was built in the early 2000s, transformed an under-utilized and inefficient studio space into a Primary Suite for the owners. Finally, a new two-story addition was built to accommodate a young family and to create harmony for the entire project.
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fig.
03 — New addition south facade
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04 — White oak and steel stair
The new addition is adorned in a highly textured and rigid expression of aluminum battens that sit upon a robust base of board-formed concrete walls. The battens create a strict rhythm across the facade that is briefly interrupted by a brise soleil expression that filters morning light into the dining space below.
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08 — Central living room
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09 — Aluminum battens
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By vaulting the ceilings and adding northern-facing skylights into the original farmhouse A-frame roof structure, indirect natural light is brought into the living room and kitchen throughout the day.
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