Tall House Tūnga: Whare by William Price is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award Rino in Hoahoa Waihanga, Whare me te Hanganga Competition Category.
RinoWaihanga· 2026
Tall House Tūnga: Whare
Client: Bill Price
A' Design Award Rino Winner in Waihanga Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #175051The Design
About Tall House Tūnga: Whare
Ko te Whare Teitei he kāinga noho whakatika poutū i runga i tētahi whenua whāiti, tuku iho tupuna i Houston. E rua ngā puranga whakaeke kua whakaritea kia rima ngā papa noho mai i te tiriti ki te tuanui, me te tautoko i te whakamātao māori. He ara hau i te papa tuatoru e kawe ana i te mārama me te hau i roto i te wāhanga, e taea ai te whakaangiangi whakawhiti me te rere hau pānga puranga. He ruma rēti i te papa whenua e tāpiri ana i te ngāwari, ā, he kohinga rauemi ahumahi e pūmau ai te whare i roto i tōna horanui tāone kīkī.
The Recognition
About the A' Design Award Rino
Ko Tall House Tūnga: Whare te toa o te A' Design Award Rino, he whakaaetanga whai mana e hoatu ana ki ngā hoahoa pai e whakatutuki ana i ngā hiahia ngaio me te ahumahi e tūmanakohia ana mai i ngā mahi kua hoahoatia pai. Ko ngā toa Rino e whakaatu ana i te pukenga nui, te tohungatanga teitei, te māramatanga mātanga me te kaha auaha o ō rātou kaihanga. E tūmanakohia ana ko Tall House Tūnga: Whare he mahi whakanuia, whakamīharotia, aroha nui, he whaihua, he auaha hoki. Ko tēnei hoahoa i toa i te Rino e whakakotahi ana i ngā tikanga pai rawa o te ahumahi, ā, he āhuatanga hangarau pūkenga tōna e hono ana ki te mōhio me te pūmanawa. E whakahonoretia ana a Tall House Tūnga: Whare mō tōna tōtika, ā, i hoahoatia hei whakapai ake i te kounga o te oranga me te āwhina i te ao kia pai ake.
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
Sponsored
Explore Beyond Designers.org
Discover products, services and opportunities from our advertising partners.
More to Explore
Related Designs
Explore more award-winning designs from the same category, selected by merit.
