The Edgeland House is a roughly 1,500 square foot, partly underground home in Austin, Texas, designed by Bercy Chen Studio and completed in 2012 on a cleaned-up industrial brownfield beside the Colorado River. Its sod-covered green roof, angled triangular geometry and native planting made it one of the best known earth-sheltered houses in the United States.
Edgeland House key facts
| Detail | What we found |
|---|---|
| Location | East Austin, Texas, between an industrial strip and the Colorado River |
| Architect | Bercy Chen Studio (Thomas Bercy and Calvin Chen) |
| Completed | 2012 |
| Size | About 1,500 sq ft |
| Type | Earth-sheltered house with a green roof |
| Structure | Concrete, steel and glass |
| Planting | More than 40 native plant species, planted with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center |
Why is the Edgeland House built into the ground?
The architects drew on the Native American pit house, a long-standing dwelling type that sinks living space into the earth. Soil keeps a steady temperature, so a partly buried home stays cooler in summer and warmer in winter. A green roof adds insulation and thermal mass, and hydronic heating covers the rest.
“The mechanical system combines: hydronic heating and a green roof for maximum energy efficiency.”
What was on the site before the house?
The lot was an industrial brownfield. An unused oil pipeline ran diagonally across it, and the owner arranged with the oil company to have it removed. The architects treated that history as a scar on the land and designed the house around healing it.
[pull_quote_center]Edgeland House is about healing the land and ameliorating the scars of the site’s industrial past.[/pull_quote_center]
How is the house laid out?
The home is split into two narrow pavilions, one for living and one for sleeping, with an open-air courtyard between them. To go from one to the other you step outside, so the weather and the plants are part of daily life. The roof tilts and folds in angular planes, which the architects link to origami, and a triangular pool points toward the river.
[pull_quote_center]The program is broken up into two separate pavilions, for the living and sleeping quarters, and requires direct contact with the outside elements to pass from one to the other.[/pull_quote_center]
Large glass walls pull daylight deep into the interior, which is kept minimal, with simple shapes and warm colors. The plants on the roof spill over the edges, so from outside the building reads as part of the land more than as an object placed on it.
Recognition
The house was featured in the Texas Society of Architects’ Design Awards issue (Texas Architect, September/October 2016), where juror Clive Wilkinson described the project as “fascinating.”
FAQ
Where is the Edgeland House?
In East Austin, Texas, on a former industrial brownfield site beside the Colorado River.
Who designed the Edgeland House?
Bercy Chen Studio, the Austin firm led by Thomas Bercy and Calvin Chen. It was completed in 2012.
How big is the Edgeland House?
About 1,500 square feet, split into a living pavilion and a sleeping pavilion.
Why is the Edgeland House built into the ground?
The earth keeps indoor temperatures steady, and the green roof and hydronic heating add efficiency. The design also draws on the Native American pit house.
What is on the Edgeland House roof?
A green roof planted with native Texas species, developed with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. More than 40 native plants are used across the site.
Last updated: October 2026.
