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Paragon Design Studio

Practice focus

Difficult residential sites

Steep sites, tight access, and retaining-heavy conditions belong in the conversation from day one. We like to work them into the design early so they feel like part of the architecture—not a late surprise in the drawing set.

Contemporary Zilker residence with local stone, modern glazing, and a third-story overlook toward downtown Austin
Juliet Residence
Contemporary Austin residence with local stone, board-and-batten siding, standing-seam metal roofs, and preserved heritage trees
Bull Creek Residence

The idea in practice

Let the constraints inform the architecture

An Austin infill parcel brings questions of access, privacy, light, and the regulatory envelope into close contact. At Bull Creek, those questions are part of the design brief from the beginning.

For a new site, the first step is to understand the survey and applicable requirements, then test how the house, parking, and outdoor spaces can work together.

Explore Bull Creek Residence

Some projects deserve to be designed from scratch

Some projects are too specific, too site-driven, or too personally important to be solved with a plan pulled from a shelf. That's why homeowners and builders bring us in.

We sort out grading, access, retaining, and regulatory questions early — so the design and the drawings match what actually gets built, solving problems before construction starts and taking full advantage of the unique features of your site.

How we work

  • Site-first discipline

    Steep lots, tight infill, and Austin compatibility rules are part of the design from the first sketch. By the time the set goes to permit, those constraints are already woven into the architecture—so they feel intentional, not like a late fix.

  • Commercially informed residential design

    When it serves the project, we bring the clarity of commercial practice—massing you can read, detailing you can build, coordination that holds—so the result feels sharp and urban where it should, and still feels like home.

  • Permit-aware planning

    We write for reviewers and the crew: slope, access, and code-sensitive conditions explained plainly, which helps everyone move ahead with fewer round-trips and repeat questions.

  • We know this ground

    Thirty years of residential practice across Central Texas — the terrain, the soils, the lake communities, the Hill Country edges, and the jurisdictions that trip up architects who are just passing through. We have worked in Spicewood, Lago Vista, Jonestown, Leander, Cedar Park, Round Rock, Hutto, Bastrop, Kyle, Buda, Marble Falls, Burnet, Georgetown, and Austin. If your lot is somewhere in that geography, we almost certainly know it.

Browse the portfolio · Contact Paragon Design Studio · Related section on the home page

Texas Brownstones at the Rivery with limestone facades, balconies, raised stoops, and private garages
Texas Brownstones at the Rivery

Selected projects

Explore the work

Lake Travis residence with second-floor living, large elevated deck, board-and-batten siding, and expansive lake views

Custom home · Lake Casual

W Lakeview Residence

A Lake Travis upside-down house with main living on the second floor, a half-level porch, large view deck, two ensuite primary bedrooms, and simple fishing-cabin-inspired forms.

Jeff Davis four-unit infill project in Austin composed as two duplex buildings around a shared drivecourt

Four units · two duplexes · infill

Jeff Davis Quad

A separate Jeff Davis infill project composed as two duplex buildings for a total of four homes, using a shared drivecourt and a clear residential street presence.