Lake Flato Houses

Book excerpt: Presenting their new and recent projects, Lake|Flato Architects demonstrate the inexhaustible potential of the modern house to enter into a dialogue with nature. Lake|Flato Architects, based in San Antonio and Austin, believe first and foremost that architecture should be rooted in its particular place, responding in a meaningful way to the natural or built environment. Using local materials and partnering with the best local craftsmen, Lake|Flato seek to create buildings that are tactile and modern, environmentally responsible and authentic, artful and crafted. Now more than thirty years since its founding, the firm has grown along with the range and complexity of its projects, yet it still considers the desire to build in partnership with the land to be an approach that remains valid and increasingly resonant. Lake|Flato’s first projects were houses, and these projects excite the firm still. By exploring the intimate relationship between family, place, and building, Lake|Flato create unique living environments that possess a compelling authenticity and beauty.