John Watson may be one of Austin’s least famous and most accomplished architects. The mere fact that he studied under Frank Lloyd Wright in the 50’s should have been enough to keep him forefront in the Austin architecture scene, but much like the style of houses he built he decided to do things his own way. I’ve featured some of his works from the late 70’s on my website before and they are some of the most amazing examples of organic architecture I’ve ever seen. Since sharing I’ve had numerous inquiries from folks that knew Mr. Watson but have lost touch with him over the years. I even had an opportunity to speak with him briefly on the phone once. He is a deeply private man, and has somehow managed to do one of the most elusive things in architecture; design lucrative projects in the exact unique style he wants to do, all while staying completely off the radar.

With that in mind you can imagine my surprise when I recently stumbled across an off market listing for The Retreat at Lick Creek Lodge. It is an enormous project, over 12,000 square feet of indoor space blended seamlessly into 30 acres of pristine hill country land. The project completed in 1999 is the newest work I’ve encountered from Mr. Watson by a good 20 years, and despite a fairly significant evolution from his original work both the design intent and much of the materials remain the same.

I could go on and on about the design features and the amazing structural feats that manage to erase the line between the indoors and out like a sleight of hand trick, but I’m sure it wouldn’t do the space justice. In fact, even the photos here fail to really capture the scale of the space. The video below does add a bit of nice context but ultimately I feel like this is a project that can only really be appreciated in person, as all architecture should be.

A big thanks to Susan Barringer the listing agent for letting me share the project. If anyone is seriously interested in purchasing this one of a kind house, I’d be more than happy to assist. The price is commensurate to the scale of the project as it should be.

Mr. Watson, if you happen to read this, give me a call. I’d love to buy you a beer sometime, or at the very least take a hike through the hill country and discuss architecture.