AIA Austin Homes Tour Celebrates 40th

The AIA Austin Homes Tour is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year with tours of nine homes scheduled for October 24–25. Ingrid Spencer, executive director of AIA Austin, describes the value of the tour well: “People don’t have the opportunity to experience the work of residential architects on a daily basis. You can go to a church, or a restaurant, or a hotel, or an office building, and see that and feel that, but to get into somebody’s house and see their kids’ rooms, and their kitchen, and their bathrooms—that is a rare once-a-year opportunity [that the Homes Tour provides].”

While there isn’t a set theme for each year’s tour, trends do tend to emerge from the pool of applicants. Common elements across the homes featured this year include support for live-work arrangements, an emphasis on materiality, improved connections to nature, and design considerations for aging in place. Both the Fitzhugh House and Studio by Pollen Architecture and the House Courtyard House by Agenda Architecture co-locate living and workspaces, while South 3rd by Murray Legge Architecture and Terraluz by Davey McEathron Architecture feature unique materials—the former clad in cork and the latter constructed of rammed earth. Half Street House by Nolan Bell Design Studio, Horseshoe Bend Cove by DK Studio, and Canopy by Workshop No. 5 all leverage tree preservation as a design driver. North Hills Residence by Webber + Studio and Rutherford Place by Restructure Studio, among others on the tour, celebrate restoration, renovation, and additions to existing homes to support current and future living needs.

The homes in the 2026 tour feature a diverse range of architectural talent and showcase varied lifestyles. All nine homes were authored by different designers, constructed by different builders, and situated in unique Austin-area neighborhoods. They range from approximately 2,000 sf to more than 5,000 sf. Four of the architects featured on this year’s tour are first-time participants, including Bhavani Singal, AIA, of Workshop No. 5. “This tour represents something larger than visibility for our practice,” says Singal. “It is recognition that a deeply personal project deserves a place in the broader conversation about what architecture can do and who it can serve.”

Dianne Kett, AIA, of DK Studio, another first-time participant, echoes this sentiment, saying, “We view the AIA Homes Tour not just as an exhibition of our work, but as an opportunity to engage the public in a conversation about the power of good design.” Particularly at a time when so much of our world is experienced digitally, the in-real-life experience of the Homes Tour is a chance for people to connect and build community around a shared event. It also gives the public an opportunity to discover what it feels like to inhabit well-designed spaces and which spatial characteristics encourage them to linger or strike up conversations with fellow tourgoers.

Returning participant Andrea Brown of Restructure Studio shares that “Austin is kind of a unicorn in that we have this incredible community of architects who are so uniquely talented—not only exceptional designers, but also generous, collaborative people who genuinely care about our city.”

David Webber, AIA, of Webber + Studio, another returning participant, concurs, saying: “Forty years in, the tour still works because it reaches something innate. We all have a nesting instinct, a deep care for our own spaces, so we’re endlessly curious about how other people live in theirs. Most visitors aren’t shopping for an architect. They come because architecture is genuinely fascinating.” AIA Austin estimates that more than 5,000 visitors attend the Homes Tour each year, including sponsors, architects, and the 300 volunteer docents who guide attendees through homes.

Many involved with the tour say that while the architecture may be what brings people together, it’s the people who really make the experience worthwhile. Returning designer Murray Legge, FAIA, of Murray Legge Architecture shares, “It’s fun to spend a weekend in the finished house and see how people respond to the work.”

Brett Greig, AIA, chair of the AIA Austin Homes Tour Committee, expresses a similar sentiment, saying that her favorite memories of the tour are the visitors’ reactions to the homes and the chance to connect with other members of the design community: “I look forward to seeing people that I haven’t seen in a very long time and the interactions inside the houses, but also the interaction of professionals and peers and friends.”

Tickets are on sale now through the AIA Austin website.