Tall House Iṣẹ́ Pàtàkì: Ilé by William Price is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Irin A' Design Award in Àpẹẹrẹ Ìkọ́lé, Ilé àti Ètò Competition Category.
IrinÌkọ́lé· 2026
Tall House Iṣẹ́ Pàtàkì: Ilé
Client: Bill Price
Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Irin A' Design Award Winner in Ìkọ́lé Category
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About Tall House Iṣẹ́ Pàtàkì: Ilé
Ọ̀rọ̀ Ìwé: Ilé Gíga jẹ́ ibùgbé tó kún àyè tó gùn sókè lórí ilẹ̀ tóóró tí a jogún ní Houston. Àwọn ìpín ọ̀tọ̀ọ̀tọ̀ méjì tí a gbé léraláyé ṣe ètò àwọn ìpele ìgbé-ayé márùn-ún láti ojú òpópó dé orùlé bí wọ́n ti ń tì afẹ́fẹ́ tutù gbáà. Ọ̀nà afẹ́fẹ́ lórí ìpele kẹta ń mú ìmọ́lẹ̀ àti afẹ́fẹ́ wá kọjá apá náà, tí ó sì ń mú kí afẹ́fẹ́ máa kọjá láti ọwọ́ kan sí ọwọ́ kejì pẹ̀lú ìṣàn afẹ́fẹ́ tó ń gòkè. Yàrá ìpele ilẹ̀ tí a lè yáni ní àfikún ìrọ̀rùn, àwọn ohun èlò tí ó dá lórí iṣẹ́ ọwọ́ ilé-iṣẹ́ sì fi ilé náà múlẹ̀ sínú àyíká ìlú tó pọ̀ jọjọ.
The Recognition
About the Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Irin A' Design Award
Tall House Iṣẹ́ Pàtàkì: Ilé jẹ́ olùborí Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Irin A' Design Award, ìdánimọ̀ olókìkí tí a fún àwọn àwòṣe tó dára tí wọ́n pàdé àwọn ohun tí iṣẹ́ àti ilé-iṣẹ́ nílò tí a retí láti ọ̀dọ̀ àwọn ẹ̀dá tí a ṣàwòṣe dáradára. Àwọn olùborí Irin ń fi ìjáfáfá ńlá, ìmọ̀ pàtó gíga, òye ògbóǹtarìgì àti agbára ìṣẹ̀dá àwọn olùṣẹ̀dá wọn hàn. A retí pé Tall House Iṣẹ́ Pàtàkì: Ilé yóò jẹ́ ẹ̀dá tí a kà sí gidigidi, tí a gbóríyìn fún tí a sì nífẹ̀ẹ́, tó wúlò tó sì ní ìmúṣẹ̀dá tuntun. Àwòṣe tó borí Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Irin A' Design Award yìí ń kó àwọn ọ̀nà tó dára jùlọ ilé-iṣẹ́ jọ, ó sì ní àwọn ànímọ́ ìmọ̀-ẹ̀rọ tó péye tí a so mọ́ ìmọ̀ ṣíṣe àti ẹ̀bùn. A bọ̀wọ̀ fún Tall House Iṣẹ́ Pàtàkì: Ilé nítorí ìfọ̀kànbalẹ̀ rẹ̀, a sì ṣàwòṣe rẹ̀ láti pèsè ìmúdára ìgbésí ayé tó ń ran ayé lọ́wọ́ láti di ibi tó dára jù.
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
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