Mira Vista House / Specht Novak

Architects: Specht Novak
Area: 4,700 ft²
Year: 2025
Photography: Leonid Furmansky
Structural Engineering: HnH Engineering
Materials: Native limestone, warm wood, smooth stucco, exposed concrete, glass
Site Area: 700 acres
Site Features: More than twenty-foot grade change, rear creek, mature trees, views toward the golf course and a prominent water feature
Building Configuration: Single-story residence
Architectural Influence: Mid-Century Modern
City: Fort Worth, Texas
Country: United States

Mira Vista House is a 4,700-square-foot residence by Texas-based architecture firm Specht Novak, located on a 700-acre property within the Mira Vista Golf Course community in Fort Worth. Conceived as a non-traditional ranch-style home, the project introduces a contemporary architectural language influenced by Mid-Century Modern principles into a neighborhood predominantly composed of conventional suburban estates. The design prioritizes natural light, framed landscape views, and a close relationship with the site, particularly its mature trees, creek, and golf-course setting. Native limestone, warm wood, smooth stucco, exposed concrete, and extensive glazing form a restrained material palette that connects the residence to its surroundings without reproducing the architectural character of adjacent houses. The property descends more than twenty feet toward the rear creek, allowing the principal living spaces to occupy an elevated position within the tree canopy. Expansive glazing and glazed corners strengthen views from the living room and primary suite, while deep roof overhangs provide shade from the Texas sun. Vertical timber slats screen the entrance, reduce western exposure, and continue inside as wood screen walls, reinforcing the visual continuity between interior and exterior.

It’s about more than just making a building fit into its surroundings—it’s about engaging deeply with every aspect of a site and with the people who will eventually use the space.
Interview with Scott Specht of Specht Novak

Mira Vista House establishes its presence in a tightly controlled residential setting through a deliberately low, horizontal form. The Mira Vista development spans approximately 700 acres on Fort Worth’s southwest side and is characterized largely by traditional homes along its championship golf course. Introducing a sleek, single-story modern residence required an extended review and approval process, yet neighboring residents have positively received the completed house.

“The house answers with restraint,” says Jakeb Novak, Specht Novak. “Rather than assert itself, it keeps a deliberately low profile while reflecting the neighborhood’s material language – native limestone, warm wood, and the mature trees surrounding the site. Neighbors have praised it for fitting in because it doesn’t try to dominate.”

At the street-facing elevation, two limestone walls anchor the composition and establish a sense of weight and permanence. Smooth stucco wraps the upper volumes, while the exposed concrete foundation becomes more visible as the ground falls away. This treatment allows the building to follow the site’s natural grade rather than conceal the elevation change.

The descending terrain also shapes how the house is experienced from within. Living spaces look through the tree branches toward the creek and golf course beyond, producing an elevated relationship with the landscape. An exterior stair provides a direct route down the slope to the water.

The use of wood further moderates the transition between enclosure and openness. Vertical slats define the entry and filter the western sun, while related screen walls continue inside. In contrast, broad glazed surfaces open the principal rooms toward the surrounding vegetation, with deep overhangs controlling solar exposure and reinforcing the building’s horizontal profile.

“The exterior’s stone holds it down as the glass lifts it into the trees—proof that a modern house, carefully made, can earn its place in even the most traditional neighborhood,” notes Novak.