Roam Ranch / Baldridge Architects

Architects: Baldridge Architects
Area: 4,362 ft²
Photography: Casey Dunn
Project Architect: Burton Baldridge
Project Manager: Brian Bedrosian
Senior Designer: Drew McMillian
Interiors: Baldridge Architects
Builder: Duecker Construction Company
Structural Engineer: Dennis Duffy Engineering
Landscape: Campbell Landscape Architecture (preexisting)
City: Fredericksburg, Texas
Country: USA

Roam Ranch, a single-family home designed by Baldridge Architects in Fredericksburg, Texas, seamlessly integrates modern design with traditional Texas ranch aesthetics. This 4,362-square-foot home, built on a working ranch, accommodates both residential and business needs, including spaces for podcasts and educational events.

Roam Ranch, a 4,362-square-foot single-family home, is located on a working ranch outside Fredericksburg, Texas. The design combines modern and traditional elements, reflecting the central Texas vernacular in form, finishes, and spirit.

The clients, an entrepreneur couple engaged in regenerative agriculture, had previously commissioned a modern home in Austin. During the pandemic, they decided city life was not for them. They tasked the firm with creating a new home on their ranch, where they sustainably raise bison and turkeys under the name “Force of Nature.” Unlike their city house, this new residence needed to support business operations, including podcasts and educational events, while serving as the primary residence for them and their two young children.

The clients wanted the new home to maintain an authentic ranch feel while incorporating modern amenities. They insisted on retaining two existing structures: a kitchen/dining area and a detached single-bedroom building. The cohesive nature of the design belies the fact that Roam Ranch is a renovation and substantial addition.

The resulting design effectively preserves the conceptual legibility of the space. Bedrooms, carport, kitchen, offices, great room, and gym are housed under a single roof. A new corrugated polycarbonate roof, matching the existing one, creates a notable entry and carport, allowing light into the rooms. These spaces form the focal point of the design, reminiscent of a central Texas dog-trot. The iconic lantern-like carport signals something special within, blending seamlessly into the Hill Country setting.

The plan’s ingenuity stemmed from practical constraints. The clients needed to live in the structures during construction, even with a newborn. The design had to consider the finished structure and the logistics of uninterrupted occupation. Despite these challenges, the resulting structure is clean and fully resolved. This is evident in details like the raw stone hearth with a seamless 1/4” floor reveal and the flitched wood and steel structure providing invisible support at the cantilevers.

Roam Ranch stands out not only for its unique appearance compared to previous projects but also for its underlying logic, which aligns with Baldridge Architects’ more stylistically modern projects.