inside look

8 stunning Houston homes showcase creativity and craftsmanship on AIA tour

The AIA Houston Home Tour is back! The annual tour raises funds that support various AIA Houston initiatives throughout the year. Held this Saturday and Sunday, October 18 and 19, the self-guided tour features eight magnificent homes throughout the Houston area.

"The AIA Houston Home Tour is an incredible opportunity to showcase the diverse architectural talent within our city," says Shawn Gottschalk, AIA, principal at studioMET Architects and 2025 Home Tour event chair. "I'm really excited about this year's event because it features a remarkable range of homes: an ADU (accessory dwelling unit) tiny house, a sensitively-restored mid-century modern townhouse which served as a model home for the future, to an expansive campus-style home comprised of multiple structures and an array of homes in between. Each project is unique in its style, size, and design, offering something inspiring for every visitor."

Homes were selected based on design excellence, quality craftsmanship, innovative solutions, use of materials, and sustainability. A juried panel comprised of fellow architects, deans of architecture schools, and other experts choose from the hundreds of project submissions every year. To keep things honest, jury members are from out of town, but not too far out of town.

“We are not looking to put on an AIA home tour of only Texas vernacular architecture,” AIA executive director Rusty Bienvenue tells CultureMap. “We want a wide variety of things because this is a very diverse city, and I’m not sure folks from too far away understand what’s going on here.”

Project architects will be on-site both days of the tour to answer questions visitors may have about the homes, or the process of hiring and working with a local architect. One thing the tour hopes to do is dispel the notion that hiring an architect is something that costs a fortune, when in fact, it can be the more cost effective way to go.

“One of the things we are trying to show is that all people in the area are entitled to good design, no matter what their socioeconomic background is,” says Bienvenue. “Hiring an architect does not necessarily make the price go up when you’re building something. In many ways, it will make the price come down, because they’re able to negotiate with suppliers they use all the time and know what to spec or not. When you go into a builder home, those prices are set.”

This year’s event chair is no stranger to the AIA Houston tour. Gottschalk’s studioMET Architects has received an AIA residential design award, an AIA Firm of the Year award, and has had their projects selected for the AIA Houston Home Tour for 16 consecutive years, with two projects featured this year — Wink Residence, designed by Gottschalk himself, and River Bend, designed by Yoonchul You — and he looks forward to being able to share these projects with the greater Houston community.

“More than just an event for architects, the AIA Houston Home Tour celebrates the simple joy of great design,” Gottschalk tells CultureMap. “It’s casual, inspiring, and welcoming to anyone curious about how thoughtful architecture transforms everyday living.”

One home on the tour is quite the standout example of how good design can transform everyday living. Homes on the tour must have been built in the last five years, or have undergone a significant renovation or addition in the last five years. “Style in Steel” is a project with significant history, and the city is lucky that the home was able to be saved from the fate of so many other quirky Houston homes.

Built in 1968 as demonstration homes for the 1969 National Association for Home Builders (NAHB) show at the Houston Astrodome Astrohall, the "Style in Steel" townhouses were a collaborative effort sponsored by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), Houston Lighting & Power Company (HL&P), and General Electric (GE). Their purpose was to showcase the advantages of the use of steel in moderately-priced residential construction, utilizing steel not just in structural elements but also in furniture, equipment, and fittings. The townhouses were designed in the International Style, taking cues from Mies van der Rohe, by renowned architects Talbott Wilson and Hal Weatherford of Wilson, Morris, Crain, & Anderson, the same firm that co-designed the Houston Astrodome. Designated as protected landmarks in 2007 by the Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission, their fate after over half a century became a pressing question.

The townhouses received a Twenty-Five-Year Award from the AIA Houston Chapter in 1998, and the home was awarded a Preservation Houston Good Brick Award in 2023. It has been featured in Architectural Record, Architectural Digest, Professional Builder, Brides magazine, and more recently in Preservation Magazine (Winter 2025) and Texas Architect (Spring 2025).

Full-Tour tickets may be purchased in advance ($35) until Friday, October 17 at 11:30 pm. Single home tour tickets are available for $10 per home, but are not available for presale. Tickets may also be purchased on-site.

"It’s one thing to pass by and admire these stunning homes from the outside, but an entirely heightened experience to step inside and be captivated by the remarkable thought and talent that went into each design,” says Bienvenue. “We look forward to seeing you on the tour.”

Each architect participating in the tour offered CultureMap personal insights into their respective projects, whether that be something special to keep an eye out for, or the thing they love most about the house. Find these insider insights below. Each link includes sneak peek photos and the home’s address.

The Tour

River Bend
“What I love most is how the design unfolds across the site in a long, single-story plan. From each space, the river is experienced and revealed in a new and surprising way.” - Reynold Scott Magnuson

Wink Residence
“The Hammam is one of my favorite elements of the home because it brings a touch of Moroccan heritage, turning a simple bath into a moment of ritual and tradition. Sharing a commitment to fitness and longevity with the homeowner, it’s rewarding to see the modern home we designed come alive through daily wellness routines — morning laps in the pool, cold plunges, and sauna sessions.” - Shawn Wesley Gottschalk

Style in Steel
“The trellised entry forecourt at the ‘Style in Steel’ Townhouse is the most featured and photographed space of the townhouse. Our goal in restoring the original architect’s intent for the townhouse included the removal of the added roof and glass window coverings to reveal the intended open trellised and light-infused forecourt space. A subtlety we appreciate is the visual engagement from inside the townhouse looking out to the forecourt through the two-story window wall, bringing the volume and light from the forecourt into the house.” – Rodolfo R. Fabre

Gibbs House
“Ironically, my favorite part of the home is the view from the exterior, looking north from the pool along the east-facing side of the house. I love how the long stretch of landscaping leads into the rich ebony wood exterior, connecting naturally with the porch and flowing into the living space. This side of the home is filled with natural light. Large windows brighten the interior, the stairwell glows through its vertical glass panels, and skylights above the bedrooms bring in soft, overhead light. As a corner home, we wanted to create a strong connection to the side yard that faces both streets, making the most of its unique position.” – Brett Zamore

Backyard Bungalow
“The thing I like most about the Backyard Bungalow is how good I feel when I am in the space. The quality of light, the cozy backyard setting, the playful forms all give me the feeling of comfort and possibility.” – Bradly Hirdes

Hunterwood Residence
“I am especially interested with how the design balances openness with intimate, personal spaces, such as the cozy spot tucked between the kitchen and family room. It’s a home designed to evolve with the family, offering flexibility in how each space is used while always feeling grounded, warm, and connected to its natural surroundings.” – Dillon Kyle

Northwood Residence
“The design of this home came from a desire for peace, and it was scheduled for construction during an incredibly uncertain time. Built entirely through remote collaboration at the height of the pandemic, it became a reflection of a strong sense of trust and shared purpose. What makes it truly special for the owners is the sense of calm that fills each room. Carried by the light, the materials and simplicity come together to create a quiet, restorative space for a young family.” – Chase Stanley

Hunters Creek House
“The design is intentionally minimalist, but the craft runs deep. I personally built many of the details, so every reveal and surface carries the mark of handwork and precision that you don’t always see at first glance. What makes this house special to me is how much of it I built myself. It’s minimalist in form, but every inch reflects hours of handwork, detail, and a love of craft that doesn’t shout…it whispers.” — Kam Biazar.

Photo by Leonid Furmansky

Style in Steel, designed by Rodolfo R. Fabre Design + FORMATION.

aia houston home tour home-design

honoring the past

Houston museum's new project preserves historic Freedmen's Town bricks

Freedmen's Town Rebirth in Action pavilion rendering

Rendering courtesy of Studio Zewde

Rebirth in Action is set to open in 2027.

As Houstonians come together to celebrate Juneteenth, it’s jarring to think that this day of celebration has only been a federally-recognized holiday since 2021. After all, it was in 1865 that U.S Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston on June 19 to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. After this event many formerly enslaved Black Americans made their way to Houston, establishing what is now Houston’s very first Heritage District, known as Freedmen’s Town.

Now, the robust Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy, in partnership with the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, and Mount Horeb Church, are working with the City of Houston on a long overdue project, Rebirth in Action, to honor this historic site. Designed by artist Theaster Gates in partnership with landscape architect Sara Zewde, the monumental pavilion will temporarily house more than 20,000 historic bricks previously removed and preserved from Houston’s Freedmen’s Town. Houston Mayor John Whitmire attended the groundbreaking, which took place last month.

While many people recognize Galveston as the site of the first Juneteenth celebrations, both of those took place on January 1, to honor the Emancipation Proclamation. However, recent research by Mary Gibbs Jones Professor of Humanities at Rice University W. Caleb McDaniel, has uncovered that the first official Juneteenth celebration was led by two ministers, Sandy Parker and Elias Dibble, right in Freedmen’s Town in 1866. McDaniel’s fascinating article will appear in the next issue of the Journal of Texas History.

Freedmen’s Town, established in 1865 by over 1,000 newly-free Black Houstonians following Juneteenth, has significantly dwindled in recent years due to systematic reductions in resources, despite its initial 500+ historic structures, including churches, schools, and cultural institutions. Rebirth in Action aims to preserve and promote the neighborhood as a monument of Black community, agency, and heritage.

“The work of the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston is to utilize our museum as a platform for resources sharing; a platform for unearthing new conversations around gems in our city that are also right down the street,” explains Ryan Dennis, co-director and chief curator for the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. “Artists have different practices and artists like Theaster [Gates] can really help understand preservation conditions and needs of community, revitalization, and bringing resources together to better serve a neighborhood and realize optimal benefits, particularly antiquities like the bricks in Freedman’s Town that have been taken out of the neighborhood, displaced in other areas of Houston, and not in the home where they were originally created, paid for, and laid down in (by formerly enslaved individuals), which is Freedmen’s Town.”

The first phase of Rebirth in Action involved artistic activations (including Gates’ exhibition The Gift and The Renege in 2024), artist residencies, community and stakeholder meetings, and the identification, cataloging, and preservation of over 20,000 historic bricks. The pavilion will encourage public viewing of these historic bricks and serve as a hub for engagement with the history, cultural significance, and future of Freedmen’s Town. Additionally, Hines Architecture + Design will rehabilitate three row houses into an adjoining community center.

“I think the whole project is one that’s quite interesting, useful, and productive. I think it’s important for us to think about how we can use our resources to accomplish the things that build collective wellness — right? Wellness in the space of really preserving our communities that have been disinvested in, elevating the real gems of our city,” says Dennis. “We can do that through collaborations and partnerships; we are much stronger when we can do that with others, versus by ourselves, and I think this project really speaks to that ethos.”

Phase Two has been made possible by Mount Horeb Church’s continued stewardship of both land and existing historic structures in Freedmen’s Town. The project will include an arts pavilion and community green space designed by Sara Zewde, with an installation by renowned artist Theaster Gates, plus three historic structures redesigned and restored by Daimian Hines Architecture + Design for adaptive reuse as a food pantry and community garden, after-school programming, and senior services for Mount Horeb Church, who will guide programming and operations.

The art installation will display the original Freedmen’s Town bricks that once lined the streets, giving visitors a chance to experience their significance firsthand. Working with the City of Houston and the North Houston Highway Improvement Program that will reconnect Freedmen’s Town to downtown, Phase Three will see these bricks returned to the streets in a pedestrian promenade capacity. Subsequently, the pavilion will showcase rotating artist activations.

“The Brick Pavilion for Freedmen’s Town is a project that is deeply resonant for me,” shares Gates. “In part, because there are several opportunities to cultivate community and institutional trust, to create an additional neighborhood heart, and to invest in more beauty for this hugely important district of Houston.”

Landscape architect Sara Zewde's pavilion, gardens, and landscape design will help centralize all facets of Rebirth in Action, creating a community hub: “Studio Zewde's collaboration with Theaster Gates began with a shared belief that the future of Freedmen's Town must be rooted in the wisdom of the community that built it,” she writes in an email. “The pavilion and landscape draw inspiration from the neighborhood's tradition of shared backyards that connected the community across property lines. The project builds on this inheritance by forming a shared landscape at the center of the sacred bricks and their pavilion, the restored row houses, the Freedmen's Town Conservancy Visitor Center, and Mount Horeb Baptist Church.”

Architect Daimian Hines credits Reverend Dr. Smith of Mount Horeb Church for the continued stewardship of the land and notes that Dr. Smith oftentimes remarks that the holding of the land has been a form of resistance, the act of holding the land keeping outsiders from contributing to the erasure of Freedmen’s Town and its history.

“The fact that these three houses, and more in the community, that these post-emancipation structures still exist, it wasn’t for a lack of community pressure. It was a combination of efforts by folks like Dr. Smith, who were resisting [gentrification] through ownership,” explains Hines.

“Some of the ownership of some of these properties are so complex, it was difficult for potential buyers [developers] to actually get ownership of some of these structures—I consider that sheer luck.”

Hines worked closely with the Houston Archeological and Historic Commission to propose rehabilitating, modifying, and even relocating the row houses a mere 15 feet. The gabled, cottage-style row houses date back to the late 19th century. These post-emancipation row houses were built by formerly-enslaved, new residents of Houston.

“We wanted to think through: ‘what was the original story, how did the front of the houses and the back of these structures — what role did they play in day-to-day life?’ We were able to make some strategic moves to bring that to the forefront again,” Hines says. “The Rebirth in Action project and the houses are part of a broader preservation goal within the community to not just preserve, but to reuse either for housing, or — in this case — adaptive reuse as a community space.”

Hines notes that one of the row houses is of double-door configuration. This typology signifies that it was most likely a boarding house in its prime, a time when Black Americans weren’t welcome in downtown hotels. The two front doors let travelers know that they were welcome to rent a safe place to stay. Together, the three row houses will offer approximately 3,200-3,600 square feet of space, plus a large back porch that will face the pavilion.

As resources were often few and far between in post-emancipation Freedmen’s Town, the cladding on row houses was patchwork in appearance, as purchasing gaps meant that continuing on with the same materials was unlikely. Regardless, these homes were remarkably well constructed, with solid wood, wooden dowels, and shiplap interior walls. These construction methods, along with allowances for airflow, contributed significantly to their preservation.

“The one thing about these structures is, that as robust as they are, they have taken a beating,” says Hines. “The actual wood, the detailing, a lot of that has been lost, but these structures tell a story. This is a project I knew I wanted to be personally involved in, and my firm. [The structures] will be able to continue telling a story and play an active role in that community, and that’s why I’m excited.”

Rendering courtesy of Studio Zewde

Rebirth in Action is set to open in 2027.

museums contemporary art museum houston freedmen's town visual-art