Tall House Ọrụ Mbụ: Ụlọ by William Price

Tall House Ọrụ Mbụ: Ụlọ by William Price is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Ihe Nrite A' Design Award nke Igwe in Nhazi Ụlọ Owu, Ụlọ na Ihe Owuwu Competition Category.

IgweỤlọ Owu· 2026

Tall House Ọrụ Mbụ: Ụlọ

by William Price

Client: Bill Price

Ihe Nrite A' Design Award nke Igwe Winner in Ụlọ Owu Category

5,090

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #175051

View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Tall House Ọrụ Mbụ: Ụlọ

Ihe Odide Akwụkwọ: Tall House bụ ụlọ obibi guzoro ọtọ nke e wuru n'ala dị warara na nke ekenyere site n'oge gara aga na Houston. Mpịakọta abụọ a tụkọtara ọnụ na-ahazi ọkwa ndụ ise site n'okporo ụzọ ruo n'elu ụlọ ka ọ na-akwado iji ikuku na-emechaghị anya jụọ oyi. Okporo ikuku dị n'ọkwa nke atọ na-eweta ìhè na ikuku site na nkebi ahụ, na-enyere aka ka ikuku na-agafe ofe na agafe site n'elu na ala. Ụlọ obibi ala ala nke a pụrụ ịgbazinye na-atụkwasị mgbanwe, ebe ụyọkọ ngwa nrụpụta ụlọ ọrụ na-eme ka ụlọ ahụ dị nkwado n'ime gburugburu obodo mejupụtara emejupụta ya.

The Recognition

About the Ihe Nrite A' Design Award nke Igwe

Tall House Ọrụ Mbụ: Ụlọ meriri A' Design Award nke Igwe, nnabata dị ugwu e nyere design ndị dị mma nke na-emezu ihe ndị a chọrọ n'ọrụ na ụlọ ọrụ nke a na-atụ anya n'ihe e kere eke ndị e mere nke ọma. Ndị meriri na Igwe na-egosi nka buru ibu, ọkachamara dị elu, nghọta ọkachamara na ikike imepụta nke ndị kere ha. A na-atụ anya na Tall House Ọrụ Mbụ: Ụlọ ga-abụ ihe e kere eke a na-asọpụrụ nke ukwuu, a na-eto na a hụrụ n'anya nke bụ ihe bara uru ma dị ọhụrụ. Design a meriri A' Design Award nke Igwe na-ejikọta ụzọ kacha mma nke ụlọ ọrụ ma nwee àgwà teknụzụ kwesịrị ekwesị jikọtara na ihe ọmụma na talent. A na-asọpụrụ Tall House Ọrụ Mbụ: Ụlọ maka nlezianya ya ma e mere ya ka ọ nye mmeziwanye ndụ nke na-enyere aka ime ka ụwa bụrụ ebe ka mma.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: A compact infill lot is transformed into a vertical prototype for resilient living. A cantilevered upper volume recalls industrial stacks while operable windows, balcony boxes, and a breezeway bring daylight and cross ventilation. A rentable ground level suite adds adaptability, and recycled materials support resource conscious construction.
Dimensions & Packaging: Approximately 50 ft high, 17 ft wide, and 48 ft long. Three interlocked volumes organize the project: a ground plinth with rentable space, a vertical living stack with a mezzanine library, and a breezeway linking balcony boxes. A double height living room anchors the core and circulation culminates at a roof deck framing downtown Houston.
Tags: Tall House, Cultural sustainability, Environmental sustainability, Urban infill housing, Industrial vernacular, Passive cooling, Vertical dwelling, Houston architecture, Recycled materials, Climatic responsiveness, Adaptive living
Production Technology: A concrete slab on four piers supports a steel frame with a five story wood structure. The corrugated metal envelope shifts from opaque to transparent to tune privacy, daylight, and heat gain. Operable insulated windows and balcony projections strengthen cross breezes, while the breezeway supports passive cooling through stack effect behavior.
Design Challenge: Built on a small grandfathered lot in Houston, the project had to prove livability and financial viability without a client. Four piers and a concrete slab support a hybrid steel and wood frame across five levels. Shaped by zoning, market limits, and climate, the house turns a narrow site into a five story urban home that reframes constraint as opportunity.
Research: Design research tested vertical housing on constrained urban lots, balancing cultural memory with climate responsiveness. Comparative studies of cubic and elongated schemes were refined through environmental simulations and full scale prototyping. Results show narrow lots can support livable, adaptive homes when section is used to drive stack effect cooling and sectional porosity.
Inspiration: The design was inspired by the industrial vernacular of Houstons historic working neighborhoods, particularly the tall boiler stacks of adjacent laundries and rail lines. Motivated by the challenge of building on a narrow grandfathered lot, the project explores how vertical living, environmental performance and cultural memory can coexist. Research into passive ventilation and sectional spatial strategies informed the designs stacked cross ventilated form.
Project Duration: Conceived and built over ten years in Houstons Lower Heights, realized through a design build process beside Olivewood Cemetery. It transforms a narrow infill lot and won the Architecture Master Prize Residential Single Family category, announced January 2026.
Operation Flow: Offering a vertical sequence of living tailored to Houston's dense urban fabric, a ground level suite engages the street, while the second level opens into a double height living volume with a mezzanine. A suspended stair threads upward to the fourth level to capture light and prevailing breezes, transforming circulation into a spatial event. The ascent concludes on a rooftop deck with views of Houston’s skyline. The house balances privacy and openness through a carefully choreographed vertical flow.
Team Members: Bill Price
Image Credits: Image #1: Photographer Tremain Jackson and Bill Price
Image #2: Photographer Tremain Jackson and Bill Price
Image #3: Photographer Tremain Jackson and Bill Price
Image #4: Photographer Tremain Jackson and Bill Price
Image #5: Photographer Tremain Jackson and Bill Price