Scupper House, Louisiana House
Hildebrandt Bayou, Texas, 1984
A southern bayou—mysterious and romantic—was directly and indirectly the primary influence upon this project. In a bayou, the waters are wide and dark, punctuated with cypress trees and water hyacinths. This kind of near tropical environment has strongly impacted its inhabitants in developing unique cultural traditions and precedents in their buildings.
The site is a two acre rural bayou waterfront lot located 25 miles southwest of Port Arthur, Texas. Close to the Gulf of Mexico and the Louisiana border, this area of Texas shares many geographical features with southwest Louisiana, an area distinguished by the unique culture of the Acadians, popularly referred to as ‘Cajuns.’
The client, Texas born of transplanted French and English speaking Acadians, retains both familial and emotional ties to Louisiana. His affinity for this unique and authentic culture is significant. The most difficult task in this project was to discern design cues from the authentic, from the essence of the region, rather than from the merely sentimental and the nostalgic.
Sited near the water, the position of the house creates two distinct scale relationships—a monumental presence to the street and an intimate presence to the bayou. The formality of the entry facade is supported by the tree-lined axial entry from the road. While this facade conveys the reality of a three story structure, the rear facade suggests a one story building. The roof geometry negotiates these two faces.
As the site floods periodically, the ground floor is raised four feet above grade on a masonry plinth. Construction is wood stud sheathed in cypress wood siding. The roof is galvanized steel.
The climate is tropical—hot, humid and wet. The typical vernacular roofline is a steeply pitched gable which drains rain water quickly. In this case the roof panels slope inward, thereby directing rain water down and back into the bayou.
Landscaping will create an entrance allee of trees with a vegetable garden to the west and flower gardens to the east. Plants and trees will be those indigenous to the area, such as oaks, magnolias, crepe myrtles, and azaleas.
ARCHITECTURE
Casita Garcia
Ellis House
Twentieth Century
Veterans Memorial
Iceland House
Baton Rouge Cimetiere
Two More Scupper Houses
Dogtrot Scupper House
Shotgun Scupper House
Wall-Highway
Wall-Mask
Wall-Perimeter
Public Space In
The New American City
Free Bridge
Goldstein Studio
Another Glass House Competition
Louisiana House
Origlio/Vanderbilt Condominium
