![One-storey home with a sloping mono-pitched roof, floor-to-ceiling windows and stone walls](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/06/hero-tobin-smith-architect-triangular-casa-escuda-san-antonio-texas-usa_dezeen_2364_col_2-852x479.jpg)
Tobin Smith creates triangular Casa Escuda for San Antonio family
Texas studio Tobin Smith Architect has completed a home for an irregular site facing a nature preserve that was envisioned as a "series of shields" clad in limestone and stucco.
Designed for a family with teenage children, Casa Escuda is located in a neighbourhood in the heart of San Antonio in south-central Texas. The home is on a triangular, corner lot and looks toward a wooded preserve in the rear.
![Exterior of a rocky-clad wall with an opening revealing a half-tubular orange tower](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/06/tobin-smith-architect-triangular-casa-escuda-san-antonio-texas-usa_dezeen_2364_col_9-852x753.jpg)
"The lot backs up to a nature preserve, giving the property a sense of seclusion despite its residential context," said local studio Tobin Smith Architect.
The team's goal was to create a home that could not only accommodate family life, but also serve as a peaceful refuge where occupants feel immersed in the landscape.
![One-storey home with floor-to-ceiling windows separated by white walls](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/06/tobin-smith-architect-triangular-casa-escuda-san-antonio-texas-usa_dezeen_2364_col_1-852x503.jpg)
Following the site's geometry, the architects conceived a 6,169-square-foot (573-square-metre) home that is roughly triangular in plan. The dwelling consists of a single-storey main portion and a two-storey wing.
The exterior was envisioned as a "series of shields that provide privacy and mitigate solar exposure," the team said.
![Exterior of a rocky-clad wall with an opening revealing a half-tubular orange tower](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/06/tobin-smith-architect-triangular-casa-escuda-san-antonio-texas-usa_dezeen_2364_col_14-852x553.jpg)
The front facade offers maximum privacy. Pieces of Texas limestone – some smooth, others textured – are assembled in rows that form a long and mostly solid wall.
"Fenestrations are modulated by these datum lines, revealing a precise resolution of material, composition and interior experience," the team said.
Marking the entrance is a tall, curved water feature made of weathering steel.
"Water from the roof cascades down this element and into a round cistern below, before flowing through a runnel at the base of the stone facade," the team said.
"These oxidised elements celebrate water conveyance and distribute this captured resource to the landscape."
![Open -plan living and dining room with floor-to-ceiling windows](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/06/tobin-smith-architect-triangular-casa-escuda-san-antonio-texas-usa_dezeen_2364_col_6-852x561.jpg)
The home is more transparent in the rear. The single-level portion of the home has window walls set within a series of white stucco "fins". The two-storey wing is covered in grey, burnished stucco.
Inside, one finds light-filled rooms, with views oriented toward the nature preserve.
![Exterior of a home with floor-to-ceiling windows separated by white perpendicular walls](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/06/tobin-smith-architect-triangular-casa-escuda-san-antonio-texas-usa_dezeen_2364_col_18-852x568.jpg)
On the ground level, the team placed communal spaces, the main bedroom suite, guest quarters, a study, a garage and a carport. The upper level holds the kids' bedrooms and a game room.
Interior finishes include porcelain tile flooring, walnut cabinetry and black soapstone.
![Open-plan living space with white walls, porcelain floor tiles, a grey sofa and corner glazing opening to an outdoor patio](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/06/tobin-smith-architect-triangular-casa-escuda-san-antonio-texas-usa_dezeen_2364_col_5-852x507.jpg)
A central patio, which adjoins the public realm, directs views to the "ephemeral foliage and skyscapes".
Other homes in San Antonio include a home comprising gabled forms organized around three courtyards by Mary English and Xavier Vendrell Architects, and a small-footprint dwelling that is meant to show "how a family can comfortably live on a compact site without sacrificing space, quality or use."
The photography is by Dror Baldinger.
Project credits:
Architect: Tobin Smith Architect
General contractor: Mauze Construction
Structural engineer: M. Scott Williamson
Landscape architect: John S Troy Landscape Architect