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A Contemporary Glass House in a Wooded Austin, Texas, Suburb

The design gives the home the illusion of a floating box

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Listing of the Day

Location: West Lake Hills, Texas

Price: $14.9 million

From the exterior, it’s a modest home, built flat and boxy, its top a wall of gorgeous mahogany wood panels. "At first glance, people assume it’s a rusted metal or even copper, but when you get close you realize it’s actually solid mahogany," said listing agent Cord Shiflet of Moreland Properties, adding that "it’s breathtaking."

The main floor is wrapped entirely in sheets of glass, creating a floating box-like illusion, solidifying the "glass-house-in-the-woods imagery we all have in our brains," Mr. Shiflet said.  

Beneath that, a subterranean floor was built entirely underground. "It starts with a driveway that feels like something out of Tony Stark’s house in ‘Ironman,’" explained Mr. Shiflet, leading to a massive five-car garage. Inside the lower level of the home, visible only from the back side, a catering kitchen, a media room, two poolside bathrooms, a wine cellar with room for 20,000 bottles, and an art studio. And possibly the second-best room in the house, behind only the master, a bedroom with cut-out windows that looks out into the middle of the pool.

The glass structure of the main house was an idea generated from the fact that the owners wanted to provide views from the guest house, built in 1947, that sits on the front of the property. "They wanted city views, so now you look across the acreage, through the glass structure of the house and out into the city," Mr. Shiflet explained. "It’s genius."

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 The Stats

The seven-bedroom, 10-bathroom (eight full, two half) estate sits on a wooded four-acre plot of land in West Lake Hills, Texas. Spread out among three stories, there’s 11,833 square feet of interior living space. In addition to the pool, the exterior of the home features a five-car underground garage. The home is "great for car enthusiasts, as the garage plays such a fun part of the house," Mr. Shiflet noted. A historic home, believed to be the first home built in the West Lake Hills area and which resided on the property before it was developed, is now a one-bedroom guest house.       

Design Pedigree

In the early 2000s, the owners of the land (he an early partner of Austin Ventures and she an Ambassador to Austria with the Obama Administration) reached out to acclaimed modernist architect Peter L. Gluck of GLUCK+ , having been a fan of his work for years.

When Mr. Gluck caught sight of what was then a plot of tree-shaded Texas land, he responded by telling them: "I’ve booked a flight for Austin tomorrow to start your project," according to Mr. Shiflet.

The New York City-based firm, helmed by Mr. Gluck, has built an award-winning career on sleek, contemporary structures, most recognizable for being built into the land, so as to make as little an impact as possible on the surrounding terrain.

More:A Waterfront Adult Playground in Austin, Texas, Prepares for Its Close-Up

Neighborhood Notes

The community of West Lake Hills, Texas, is just 10 miles from Downtown Austin. "It’s known for having the best schools in the state of Texas and sixth best in the country," Mr. Shiflet explained. But in addition to its being one of the best places to raise a family, people choose to live in West Lake for the "building lots that are mostly one-plus acres in size, the views from the houses built into the hills, the chance to have waterfront property on Lake Austin, and the proximity to the prestigious Austin Country Club."

Agent: Cord Shiflet, Moreland Properties

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