A writer's brutalist Austin estate blends barn and loft living

Loft living meets family home at this contemporary Brutalist Texas estate, which features a barn-like concrete interior and is on sale for $8.995m.

According to its listing with Kuper Sotheby’s International Realty, the Larry Speck-designed Austin property was remodelled by architects Paul Lamb and Ted Young for its owner, the writer and philanthropist Suzanne McFayden.

They have put a cosy spin on the 7,000-square-foot house, improving its layout and adding a rustic and rich material palette while retaining its original concrete walls, curved, vaulted ceilings and white pine flooring.

A wide staircase with steel panelling opens onto the vast living-dining room set beneath a high steel-trussed ceiling. Glazed walls and doors run along one side, offering views of downtown Austin, while wide interior walls provide ample gallery space for McFayden’s world-class art collection.

Elsewhere, there is a minimalist outdoor pool set in multi-level decking, an Arabescato marble bathroom and a kitchen with a white Macaubas quartzite island worktop and lichen-covered tree bark wall tiles.

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