We spoke with Rame Hruska, AIA, LEED AP – Architect and Co-Founder of Intexure Architects regarding their 2026 Austin Modern Home Tour home, a stunning Westlake Luxury residence built in a very unique way.
Images: Rame Hruska. Video: James Leasure / MA+DS
Intexure has been a leading voice in Texas for many years for modular ADUs as well as traditional custom builds, though in Austin many people know us primarily for your smaller infill projects based on your modular methodology.
How does modular construction scale from a smaller home, where efficiency is a critical feature, to a spacious luxury home requiring high-end fit and finish?
RH: The Camino Alto project is a great example of how modular off-site construction is a construction method — not a type of home. It’s a method that can be applied across multiple project types.
In our ADUs and urban infill homes, efficiency is often about footprint and precision: how to make a smaller space feel generous, how to eliminate waste, and how to maximize performance. That same rigor translates directly into larger, more expressive homes. The difference is complexity. In this case, we carefully integrated site-built infill elements of steel and glass between modules to achieve a design without restraint.
With a luxury residence, the focus shifts from spatial efficiency to performance, detailing, and refinement. We are able to create larger spaces, and glazing becomes more expansive. The advantages of off-site fabrication — controlled tolerances, protected materials, and repeatable precision — are just as valuable at this scale.
Ultimately, modular construction is not about size. It’s about engineering and quality. Whether an ADU or a single-family home, the principles remain the same.
Your Tour house is perched high on a ridge top in the Westlake area of Austin. Can you describe the process of building, transporting, and assembling this large luxury home from your factory in Houston?
RH: The process begins long before anything is built. Modular construction requires extensive coordination. Structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems are engineered to a level of detail not typically found in conventional residential construction.
The home was fabricated as volumetric modules in Houston. Building indoors protects materials from weather and issues with wood warping, molding, or swelling. It also allows parallel work streams, which compresses the overall schedule.
For an installation like this, access and crane placement are critical — sometimes the logistics themselves become one of the most technical aspects of the project.
On set day, a crane places each module onto the prepared foundation in sequence. What might take months in traditional stick-built framing can occur in a matter of days. Once set, the modules are structurally tied together, exterior seams are completed, and final finishes are installed.
The result is a home that feels site-built, but with the precision and efficiency of controlled fabrication.
When Tourgoers enter the Camino Alto home on Tour day, what should they look for? What are the standout features that make this home and its unique assembly and build process a special place to live?
RH: The home opens toward the views with expansive glazing that captures the landscape and blurs the boundaries between indoor and outdoor spaces. This connection to the environment is one of the primary features of the design. We created a variety of spaces on every level to reinforce that experience — from the rooftop deck to the second-floor flex space, the main deck, and the lower pool area.
Natural light moves through the interiors throughout the day. Materials are restrained but tactile. The home feels grounded in its setting.
This is not a “modular home” in the traditional sense. It is simply architecture — delivered differently.
