Property of Mr. and Mrs. Mr. and Mrs. John Winterbotham of Houston, Texas | architects: Preston Bolton and Howard Barnstone

If some people find serenity in an easy, informal flow of space, others derive calmness of spirit from the measured cadences of spaces precisely drawn and clearly organized. Among the partisans of the second point of view are Mr. and Mrs. John Winterbotham of Houston, Tex., whose Palladian-like villa of glass, steel and Mexican brick shows how pleasantly relaxing formal order can be. The plan is an extension of Mrs. Winterbotham’s theory that the only way to run a household is for everyone to have a specific territory. This is yet another example of the multiple house. Moreover, every room has a clearly defined function and is, in a sense, a place apart. But the delights of the house go deeper than the smooth organization of daily living—there is a sense of satisfaction and completeness in the whole concept of its design. At the front of the house, tall gates, stretched between two projecting wings, convey a sense of well-ordered, highly civilized composure. But at the back, the elegant geometry of tiers of glass contrasts unabashedly with the luxuriance of a landscape dense with live oaks and dreamy Spanish moss. Paradoxically, this very failure to meet nature halfway via natural materials and rustic informality only goes to emphasize the untrammeled naturalness of the surroundings and the sense of closeness to the outdoors.

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source: House and Garden Magazine | November 1962