This two-family dwelling is a prototype that takes advantage of a "Design Infill" tool provided by the City of Austin that allows for the construction of a "Secondary Apartment" in substandard, illegally sized, Single Family lots. LAMME + MISI Urban Studio LLP saw this opportunity as key to elevating the level of land utilization in the city's urban core and immediately embraced it as one of the pioneers of design and development in the area. This succeeds in proving to developers that well-designed, environmentally-friendly and culturally-respectful architecture in the urban core is highly sought product by buyers, while helping to slow down the pace of suburban sprawl. LAMME + MISI Urban Studio LLP believes that promoting sustainability through architecture generates a positive global impact.

Each dwelling unit was designed around two beautiful mature pecan trees. The design utilizes the best qualities offered by trees such as shading, dappled lighting and partial cover as integral elements of the buildings; roof decks were placed right below each tree canopy making for comfortable outdoor gathering spaces; the tree canopies helped reduce the roof's solar exposure, contributing with the energy efficiency of the homes; clerestory windows were carefully placed throughout not only to promote natural lighting and ventilation while preserving privacy, but also to capture the views of the tree canopies instead of the views to the neighboring homes; the presence of the trees allows for lighting to travel through the house at different times of the day, creating a dynamic lighting environment with dancing shadows at the rhythm of the spring breezes.

The open floor plans integrate indoor and outdoor living with seamless transition of spaces through the use of movable, individually articulating glass wall panels. Such movable glass walls allow for the dwellings to "shrink" or "expand" their enclosed spaces, or even to completely open the living spaces up to the outdoors; the glass walls were designed and produced specifically for this project, for the purpose of grounding this houses to the site by promoting free flow between interior and exterior, and reducing the need for frequent use of HVAC systems.

The result of all these factors is a simply designed, sustainable project that has received a 5-star green building rating (highest in its genre), accredited by the City of Austin Green Building Program.

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