ESSENTIALS
Firm Name: Cuppett Kilpatrick Architecture & Design
Principals: Tim Cuppett, Dave Kilpatrick
Headquarters: 3904 Medical Pkwy, Ste C, Austin, Texas
Accolades: Forbes Architecture’s “America’s Top 200 Residential Architects,” 2025; Forbes Architecture’s “America’s Best-in-State Residential Architects,” 2025.
House Name: Camp Frio
Location: Leakey, Texas
Site Specifics: Texas Hill Country, on the deepwater banks of the Frio River, 2.8 acres of meadows bordered by oaks, cypress and scrub cedar
Conditioned Area & Layout: Main house, 1,980 square feet; two cottages, each 490 square feet; meditation/art studio, 800 square feet
“I was astonished by the beauty and the simplicity of those early Texas houses. They were real, straight to the point, not copied from anything. They fit the land as naturally as the trees.”
—O’Neil Ford (1905–1982), Texas Architect
W
ith residential architecture, sometimes the “big idea” is that which affects a sense of the “small”—by emphasizing expressions of simplicity, honesty and connection. It’s a tall order. The architecture of our houses, when endowed with the burden of serving as an emblem of great personal achievement, has the power to divert our attention and otherwise disengage us from the very places we have chosen to call “home.” Culturally, we struggle with that certain old and frayed but persistent inconvenient truth.
ABOVE: “A second floor, over a screened porch, houses a bunk room and guest suite,” says the architect. “An exaggerated overhang offers protection from the strong southwestern sun, while a free-standing bathtub sits in the glazed corner of a lean-to on the side of the house.”
Tobin Davies
Two hours west of San Antonio, in a 400-resident town set amidst the Edwards Plateau’s limestone canyons, natural springs and Frio River, Cuppett Kilpatrick Architecture & Design, working on behalf of a place-sensitive client, sidestepped the all-too-common pitfall, successfully finding their way to “small.” For this boutique Texas firm, it’s familiar territory.
Intended to serve as a multifamily compound, an escape from technology, the project brought to life an invigorated architecture, one that sensitively blends the region’s vernacular with the contemporary, all while remaining essentially rooted in the Hill Country. On the exteriors, the palette is strictly local—western red cedar and limestone, with roofs clad with corrugated tin. All architectural detailing was prescribed to be implemented by carpenters and stonemasons based locally.
ABOVE: “Much like the rural structures built by early settlers of this area, each of the four buildings here features deep porches and wide overhangs, which act like hat brims to shade glazing and create outdoor rooms to escape the summer sun.”
Tobin Davies
The home’s four primary structures, a two-story dog-trot-plan main house, along with two standalone cottages and a separate studio, together, are no larger than they absolutely need to be. But the greatest achievement here lies in how the architecture quietly instructs—how such features as orientation to the riverbank, along with deep screen porches and wide sheltering overhangs, synthesize to make it impossible to not feel a cooling breeze, not be compelled to take time to appreciate the oaks, the river, and the Hill Country’s overall abundance of natural beauty.
ABOVE: “The main house and guest cottages are connected by an elevated deck, enabling kids to run back and forth between structures. Building form and orientation were carefully considered to provide an authentic rural experience and encourage occupants to be outdoors in a climate where that can sometimes be difficult.”
Tobin Davies
ABOVE: “A pocketed glass door caps the central dining breezeway at each end. When opened, the space draws air from screened porches like an old ‘dog run.’ When closed, the dining room can be heated and cooled.”
Tobin Davies
ABOVE: “The main house is divided into cozy compartments like an old house but is open to breathe and flow when hosting large groups. Millwork separates the living room from the eat-in kitchen.”
Tobin Davies
ABOVE: “From the central dining breezeway, a stair leads to a guest suite and bunk room. Even in the heat of summer, the space is mostly left open to draw fresh air from the cold Frio River through the house. Details are rudimentary and repeated across the project.”
Whit Preston
ABOVE: “Contained within the center of the main house and the guest cottages is a yard designed for rough-and-tumble play; otherwise, the landscape was revegetated with regional flora.”
Tobin Davies
ABOVE: “In the guest cottages, shaded windows offer views to the meadow and hills beyond. Beneath a sleeping loft with exposed floor framing is a cozy sleeping chamber.”
Whit Preston
ABOVE: Partaking in swimming, cliff diving, tubing, canoeing, fishing, and hunting, generations of Texans have grown up retreating to the cooling, spring-fed Frio River, with its especially high water quality and rich and diverse ecosystem. Designing and building on its banks demands an especially light and sensitive hand.
Tobin Davies
ABOVE: “A guest cottage lights the meadow like a lantern.”
Tobin Davies
ABOVE: “As a collective whole, the buildings are rotated 45 degrees to the riverbank, not only to provide long views up and down river, but also to locate porches and operable windows such that they are cross ventilated by the prevailing breeze.”
Cuppett Kilpatrick Architecture & Design
More from Forbes
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardolsen/2025/12/13/forbes-house-of-the-week-texas-hill-country-haven/
