Luxury Homes of Texas:  

Considering each project a unique opportunity to impact people’s lives, lntexure Architects begins the design process not merely with programmatic requirements but with a vision. Some clients bring lists of preferences; others come with minds wide open to the possibilities. Either way, architects Russell and Rame Hruska, a husband-wife team, keep the creative process ethereal at first by visiting with clients about the way they live, their history, cultural ties, interests and future goals to uncover their needs and at the same time develop lasting relationships that make the project enjoyable. The name “lntexure” calls attention to the firm’s holistic design approach, which weaves together architecture, landscaping, interior design and construction. 

This approach leads to a cohesive design: openings in the façade respond to the landscape beyond, rooms are scaled in line with their furnishings, lighting is integrated into the design, and millwork is designed specifically for the project. While lntexure Architects may draw inspiration from many facets of life, its work has a clear modern spirit rooted in the idea that architecture must be appropriate to its time and place. This approach is exemplified in a Houston home that integrates the owners’ Indian heritage with a modern lifestyle. The design of the home is based in part on the ancient concept of a nine-square-grid where the center of a traditional Indian house is a courtyard, or a Hindu temple opens to the sky. In the modern dwelling, the great room becomes a central courtyard, anchored between arcing cast-in-place concrete walls below a roof that seems to float overhead. 

The space inside this “courtyard great room” is infused with an incredible sense of light, air and openness. As with all of lntexure’s designs, sustainability is a key consideration, achieved through smart design solutions such as careful building orientation and window placement. The insulated fiberglass wall system on the west facade minimizes heat gain yet acts as a luminous screen, flooding the interior with soft natural daylight while maintaining privacy from the street. The opposite end of the great room opens to the east, sheltered by the backyard tree canopy and large roof overhang. Local materials were specified whenever possible-honed Texas limestone, concrete walls, structural clay tile and Galvalume siding. Renewable and recycled content materials such as bamboo flooring and recycled quartz countertops were also employed. Each of lntexure’s projects is as unique as the people who occupy it, yet all share a distinct awareness of the client’s needs, responsiveness to the site and sense of authenticity. 

Whether the office is working on a large, high-end home such as this Luxury Homes of Texas project or a project for affordable housing, the rigor in the processes is the same: Everything is held to the same high standards of appropriateness, constructability, economy of scale, materials and sustainability. By maintaining such an inclusive design process, the architects Russell and Rame Hruska ensure that all aspects of the design work together, express the same values and, most importantly, bolster their clients’ quality of life.