Located near Hunt, TX, a 1930s historic ranch featured small windows and a dark interior. The homeowners thought the stone lodge lacked a meaningful connection to the outdoors and asked Brantley Hightower, AIA, and founding partner of HiWorks located in San Antonio, TX, to solve this issue by creating a more direct way to experience the surrounding hill country landscape. Hightower came up with the design of an outdoor pavilion.
“In response, we designed a stone and concrete structure shaded by a wood-framed butterfly roof that defines an area for family gathering, grilling and dining,” said Hightower. “To tell the story of the client’s connection to the ranch, we worked with individual family members to create a series of concrete handprint ‘stones’ that are incorporated into the masonry of the pavilion.”