We are pleased to announce that our firm has been selected to provide architectural design services for two new noteworthy projects, whose goals are to preserve the architecturally and culturally significant neighborhoods of Clarksville and Robertson Hill in central Austin.

Both the Clarksville and Robertson Hill neighborhoods are historically valuable, as they were settled by many of Austin’s first African-American families in the 19th century. However, the neighborhoods have been targets of aggressive development without historic context in the past few years. The new projects plan to preserve many of the remaining structures by connecting two of the original units to create a home large enough for today’s standards, yet retaining the look of the original tiny homes. These major projects are both notable and unique in that they represent the combined efforts of the proactive Robertson Hill neighborhood with the City of Austin’s Neighborhood Housing & Community Development Corporation (NHCD) and visionary private developer Tom Blackwell, who is the owner/developer of the Clarksville project.

Tom Hatch, Hatch + Ulland Owen Architects’ founder, will lead the design team. “We are honored to have been chosen for these projects, and elated that both neighborhoods will not only be preserved, but will remain vital, thriving communities”, he noted. Mr. Hatch has been deeply involved in Austin’s civic life through participation in public boards, non-profit organizations, and neighborhood organizations, and through his service as an ongoing resource to numerous private and public organizations. In 2008, Tom was honored with the John V. Nyfeler, FAIA Community Service Award and in 2011, he was elevated to fellowship in the American Institute of Architects for his career-long commitment to affordable housing in Texas.

Our Senior Partner, Tom Hatch, FAIA has played a significant role in providing affordable housing in Austin’s east side neighborhoods. As architect on many affordable housing projects, he has helped shape east Austin by making its neighborhoods safer while maintaining a sensitivity to its unique history.

The Guadalupe Neighborhood, one of the city’s fastest changing neighborhoods is among these neighborhoods. Michael Barnes, of the Austin American Statesman wrote an article in the newspaper’s REAL Magazine, shining a spotlight on this neighborhood and took some time to chat with our very own, Tom Hatch.

Small town in the big city
In close-in Guadalupe neighborhood, history blends with hipster hangouts

One inescapable fact about the Guadalupe neighborhood: It rests atop a steep hill.

In fact, this high point on the wooded prairie is also known as Robertson Hill, named for Dr. Joseph W. Robertson, who purchased the land around the French Legation in 1848. His descendants lived here for almost 100 years. At least one street, Lydia, still bears a family member’s name. Full article>>

Entry by Kelly Stephenson, Architect, h+uo

There is a very special home under construction on a tiny corner lot at the intersection of Navasota and Willow Street in east Austin. In addition to being our latest affordable home under construction, it will become the first Community Land Trust home to be built in Austin, and possibly in Texas. A new state law allows for cities to designate Community Land Trust status to nonprofit organizations that develop affordable housing – in this case Guadalupe Neighborhood Development Corporation (GNDC) (http://guadalupendc.org). 

According to Executive Director Mark Rogers, the land itself is entrusted to GNDC. The corporation can sell the house to buyers with low to moderate incomes, giving the highest priority to families with generational ties to the neighborhood.  Homeowners are then able to pass the home and the land lease on to their heirs. Should the Community Land Trust homeowner decide to sell their home one day, the new homeowner must meet similar qualifications, including historical ties to the neighborhood.

The future homeowner of1313 Willow Street is Mary Ybarra, a life-long east Austin resident who grew up in the yellow house down the street.  For eleven years, she rented the 1940’s home that originally stood at 1313Willowwhere she raised two children as a single mother.  “These grounds have so many precious memories,” she said in the ground-breaking ceremony last Friday.  Despite frequent repairs by GNDC (the owner), the original home deteriorated to the point where it became unlivable. After much discussion and many attempts to keep the original structure intact, it was decided that GNDC would construct a “healthy”, slightly larger new home in its place (with a more functional floor plan), but that it must be designed in such a way that retains the original charm and scale of the era.  This is where h+uo came into the picture. Our firm has designed many homes in conjunction with GNDC and other non-profit organizations in the past and it seemed to be a perfect fit.

Together with input from Mary Ybarra, GNDC, and the neighborhood, we designed a bright and airy two-bedroom, two-bath home of about 1129 square feet. A generous wrap-around porch will overlook both Navasota and Willow streets, providing almost 200 additional square feet of space to be enjoyed by the homeowner, who loves spending time outdoors.

The home will also feature transom windows above exterior doors, 9-foot ceilings, trim details accurate to the era, a metal roof, and windows with tall, vertical proportions. Standing in front of an enthusiastic crowd on Friday, Mary Ybarra said that the house is “more valuable than gold” to her and that this street will always be “home”.

The home-builder, Saldaña Homes, LLC (http://www.saldanahomesllc.com) is a family-owned company that we have enjoyed working with in the past on projects such as the well-received “Garden Court” homes in two phases of the Mueller Airport Redevelopment (http://www.muelleraustinonline.com/about.php).

Although the site was very tight to begin with, all existing trees were retained and there was even room to accommodate tandem parking for two cars tucked discreetly behind the home. As currently designed, the home qualifies for a 3-Star rating through the Austin Energy Green Building Program (https://my.austinenergy.com) but GNDC and Saldaña Homes are pursuing the highest rating of 5 stars, which would be a rare feat for such a modest budget.

In many ways, the home at 1313 Willow is indeed a very special home. We are looking forward to the day when Mary can move into her new home!

~Kelly Stephenson

Entry by Megan Matthews, Architectural Intern, h+uo

Foundation Communities’ M Station, designed by Hatch+Ulland Owen Architects (h+uo), recently won the Property of the Year Award for affordable housing from the Austin Apartment Association. We are truly honored to have been a part of this important development.

The community features environmentally sensitive amenities and green features aimed at conserving not only electricity, but water as well. With a LEED Platinum rating, M Station provides residents an inviting and respectable place to call home, while offering on-site support services for child care and continuing education.

A project of this scale can only realize such great success after having a continued positive relationship between the client and the architect. Other recent awards for M Station include the Community Stewardship Award for Best New Development from Envision Central Texas and the Social Impact Award from the Austin Business Journal.

A Personal Note from Megan

Before working for h+uo, I worked for Foundation Communities, a local non-profit organization providing affordable housing and support services to low income adults in the Austin area. Once construction began on their new housing community, M Station, I was invited to attend and sit-in on weekly construction meetings. As an architecture student still in school at UT, this was a great opportunity to get a closer look at the construction process. It was during these weekly construction meetings that I met Tom Hatch and from there worked as a Resident Intern at h+uo during the summer and fall of 2011. After graduating in May 2012, h+uo decided to hire me as a full-time Architectural Intern. I’m enjoying learning about architecture through practical applications and seeing just how architecture can positively impact the lives of people.

~ Megan Matthews

Hatch + Ulland Owen Architects (H+UOA) is pleased to announce that M Station, the recently-completed multi-family community designed by the firm, has been awarded a prestigious Community Stewardship Award from Envision Central Texas, at their luncheon held Friday, May 11, 2012 at the Hyatt Regency Austin.

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