Clever architects create in-person, virtual AND hybrid home tour

By Ashley Absalom

The AIA Dallas Tour of Homes, Dallas’ only citywide home tour and the area’s only tour curated exclusively by architects, is back Saturday and Sunday, October 23-24. 

This is the 15th anniversary of the tour, and this milestone year features geographic expansion of homes outside of Dallas, including a home in Denton, Texas and one outside of Tyler, Texas. 

“AIA Dallas celebrates the beauty and diversity of architecture in Texas homes,” says Michael Malone, FAIA, committee co-chair and founding principal at Malone Maxwell Dennehy Architects. “This year’s collection features diverse housing options in terms of style and size.”

The Tour of Homes showcases the work of our city’s talented architects, highlighting innovative and outstanding residential design. 

This year’s tour will feature groundbreaking homes in Preston Hollow, Oak Cliff, Lake Highlands, Lakewood, Turtle Creek, and, for the first time ever, in Denton and East Texas.

After COVID-19 pushed all tours virtual last year, 2021 will feature a carefully executed return to in-person tours, as well as virtual options. Seven homes will be in-person only, two will be virtual, and one in Denton will have hybrid options (both in-person and virtual).

The three virtual tours include Five House (a rustic-modern pool casita in Denton), Sugar Creek (a modern home in a wooded setting outside of Tyler, Texas featuring a new commissioned sculpture by award-winning Dallas photographer and architect Craig D. Blackmon, FAIA), and Gold Crest (a high rise on Turtle Creek Boulevard, whose original design was by notable Dallas architect George Dahl). 

Virtual tickets will consist of digital access to these three homes, with an hour-long video walk-through led by the architects.

The in-person tours feature a sustainable home on Stonegate Road pursuing quadruple energy and green building certifications and producing five to seven times more energy than is being consumed, a historic renovation of a farmhouse on Kessler Parkway, a 6,000-square-foot home in Preston Hollow and many more. 

The self-guided tour is Saturday, Oct. 23 and Sunday, Oct. 24, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. A variety of ticketing options are available to accommodate interests. Tour tickets are $45 for the in-person-only tours, and $45 for the three virtual tours. A combined all-access pass to all ten homes (in-person and virtual) is $75. Tickets are on sale now at hometourdallas.com.

The separately ticketed Premiere Party is the Thursday before the tour (October 21) and is held at a Forest Hills home, which is not on the tour. Tickets are $125 and include passed hors d’oeuvres, open bar, meet-and-greets with the tour architects at the Premiere Party, and a combined in-person and virtual ticket to the tour.

Ticket holders will receive access through an app to plan a richer event experience and enjoy content at their fingertips while touring, including maps, images, insights from tour architects, access to the virtual tours, photos, videos and extra content. The week before the event, the addresses for the homes will be available on hometourdallas.com and on the app.