The Venue
The Plant at Kyle, a.k.a the Carraro Residence or the Alamo Cement Plant House, began life in the 1920s as a shed at the Alamo Cement plant in San Antonio, Texas (since re-purposed as the Quarry Market mall).
Henry and Francine Carraro purchased the property in Kyle with plans to build a home utilizing a metal building they already owned, and started conversations with the newly launched firm of Lake|Flato Architects, led by David Lake and Ted Flato who met in 1981 in the offices of legendary Texas architect O’Neill Ford’s firm Ford Powell & Carson.
Lake and Flato had admired the rugged industrial architecture of the cement plant, and when they learned it was scheduled to be demolished, suggested that Henry try to buy some of the soon-to-be scrapped materials for use on their Kyle property. Henry negotiated a very good price for the purchase, disassembly, moving, and re-assembly of one of the plant’s smaller buildings, a 180 ft. long x 40 ft. wide x 30 ft. tall steel-framed building on the spot of land they’d cleared for their new home.
The architect’s configuration of the steel framing consists of three separate sections: an open garage shed, (under which a pool was added by the second owner); a corrugated-covered central “dog-run” pavilion featuring laundry and utility areas, a bath/shower and library (now bedroom) topped by a master suite in the center; and the longest stretch, a screened patio-porch into which has been built a limestone structure containing kitchen, living and dining rooms under a bedroom and bath. Shortly after the building was finished it started to draw attention for the young firm, attracting local, regional and national AIA awards and publications.
The owner of an adjacent property and home, Genevieve Vaughan, bought the property when Henry Carraro moved to Little Rock earlier in the decade. The current owners, Carrie Bills, Dana Friis-Hansen, and Mark Holzbach, acquired the property in July, 2007. In recognition of its unique architectural significance and history, they are preserving it in its original form, creating an educational and historical archive, and making the home available to a broader public through events and rentals, with a portion of the proceeds going towards restoration, conservation, and maintenance.
Greg:
I first learned of this cool building in architecture school. Before I really knew how prestigious the Texas architects were, this building came up on my seach for Texas Vernacular architecture, and industrial materials. I decided to write a paper about it for a survey course and even contacted the firm to see about getting access to the property. I knew where Kyle was, but had’t spent much time there, much less the gorgeous Hill Country outskirts of Kyle. It was still privately owned and its location being kept a secret, so I never got the chance, but then lo and behold I’m looking for a wedding venue and this place pops up on the radar. After learning of its new direction and rental availability, it was put at the top of the list. After shopping a while and negotiating a great deal through my “aspiring young architect” status, we signed the papers and can’t wait to share such a glorious day with all our friends and family at this sacred site.
