A compelling survey of Texas houses that draw both on the heritage of pioneer ranches and on the twentieth-century design principles of Modernism

Helen Thompson and Casey Dunn, the writer/photographer team that produced the exceptionally successful Marfa Modern, join forces again to investigate Texas modernism. The juxtaposition of the sleek European forms with a gritty Texas spirit generated a unique brand of modernism that is very basic to the culture of the state today.

Its roots are in the early Texas pioneer houses, whose long, low profiles express an efficiency that is basic to the modern idiom. This Texas-centric style is focused on the relationship of the house to the site, the materials it is made of–most often local stone and wood–and the way the building functions in the harsh Texas climate.