With Casa de Ondas, or ‘House of Waves’ in Spanish, South African architecture firm SAOTA makes its Dallas debut.
Although SAOTA has an established portfolio across the United States, the project presented an opportunity to respond to a different context, defined by an enclosed garden and mature oak trees.
The brief called for a generous family home that could accommodate everyday life and entertaining while remaining relaxed and connected to the landscape. As the estate was already enclosed, conventional boundary walls were unnecessary. Instead, the building itself establishes privacy through a U-shaped plan arranged around a central courtyard. This configuration creates a sheltered space while orientating the primary living areas towards the garden. “Unlike many of our projects, there are no distant views from the property,” explains SAOTA principal Mark Bullivant. “We therefore had to create a sense of outlook within the site itself, using the architecture, courtyards and landscape to establish visual axes and framed moments.”
A double-volume living space connects the home’s various wings, with more intimate rooms and pavilions arranged around it. Limestone walls extend beyond the building envelope to define courtyards and outdoor rooms, blurring the distinction between architecture and landscape. While relatively enclosed from the street, Casa de Ondas gradually opens up when explored. Passing between the limestone walls and into the central courtyard marks a transition from the private exterior to a more open sequence of spaces.
Showcasing architectural craftsmanship, the sweeping geometric roof draws on the layered canopies of the site’s live oaks. Its form adds a sense of movement that contrasts with the solidity of the walls, helping the architecture settle into its surrounds. Beyond its sculptural qualities, the roof provides substantial shade, while its relationship with the glazing and surrounding trees helps moderate direct solar exposure. Organised around outdoor spaces, the house allows many of its principal rooms to connect directly with the garden and benefit from natural light.
Working in collaboration with architecture firm Ghost, SAOTA selected locally quarried Lueders limestone as the primary material. The stone grounds the dwelling in its Texan context, while its weight and permanence provide a counterpoint to the lighter roof form. “The limestone is used throughout the house, both inside and out. Rather than treating it simply as a finish, it was employed to define walls, thresholds, courtyards and garden rooms, allowing the material to give continuity to the architecture,” says Bullivant. Warmer finishes, furniture and detailing soften the stone and lend the interiors a more intimate character. “We wanted a relatively simple material palette, allowing texture, light and shadow to bring variation rather than relying on a large number of finishes