Llano River House

Inspired by southern vernacular dog-trot homes, which channel breezes through a divided plan, The Llano River House offers practical organization and passive cooling with modern detailing.

Semi-retired and looking for a place to enjoy with their grandchildren, the clients for Llano River House approached Pollen about designing an affordable and site-appropriate river home.They came with simple programmatic needs: a combined kitchen/living area and two bedrooms with a shared bathroom. They imagined that most of their time would be spent outdoors enjoying the river’s shallow shores. Mosquitoes in the area made a screen porch necessary, and this quickly became the connecting tissue between the two enclosed volumes.

Southern breezes from the river are channeled through the central screen porch, where shifting roof profiles create a structural intersection, celebrated by exposed rafters and trusses.