VISION House Austin: Built for Resilience
James Hardie partnered with Green Builder Media and Barley | Pfeiffer Architecture to build the VISION House Austin, a climate responsive home featuring award-winning Hardie® Artisan® Lap and Hardie® Artisan® Trim.
Every day, the James Hardie team puts passion and precision into providing products to homeowners, builders, and designers to help adapt to the challenges presented by a changing climate. Many products in and around your home have an impact, and we know that it’s possible for all homes to be future ready.
Last year, James Hardie partnered with leading architects and builders in the Mountain, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions to spotlight Three Resilient Homes for the Future. Now, we are part of new projects with leading architects and builders from Texas and Minnesota, in partnership with Green Builder Media and ProTradeCraft. These new and renovated homes demonstrate the modern standard of performance and beauty, while innovating to ensure our durable and resilient siding can withstand a variety of climate conditions and extremes.
In Austin, Texas, Green Builder Media, along with Peter Pfeiffer and Alan Barley of Barley|Pfeiffer Architecture, are constructing the VISION House Austin. The VISION House Austin’s climate responsive design is a good fit for us, as we know that homeowners want long-lasting beauty and protection from climate impacts.
The VISION House Austin features Hardie® fiber cement products which offer personalized design options, trusted protection, and long-lasting beauty. Unlike brick, which is used frequently in Texas, Hardie® products provide exceptional design versatility, offering an extensive range of products, styles, and textures. For this home, the architects specified Hardie® Artisan® Siding and Hardie® Artisan® Trim to set the VISION House Austin apart. Offering gorgeous, deep shadow lines and extra thick boards, Hardie® Artisan® Siding and Trim will set homes apart. The 5/8-inch thickness and unique features of Hardie® Artisan® siding provide precise fit and finish as well as the freedom to miter corners for attractive, streamlined styling. The 1.5-inch-thick board of Hardie® Artisan® Trim sits proud to compliment the siding’s shadow lines.
Hardie® Artisan® Lap siding was recognized as one of the Green Builder® Sustainable Products of the Year for 2024 and Hardie® Artisan® Trim has been named one of the Green Builder® Sustainable Products of the Year for 2025. Unlike many other building materials, fiber cement products like Hardie® Artisan® Lap Siding capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from the environment over their operational lifetime, when cement absorbs and reacts with CO2 from the air. In other words, Hardie® Artisan® Lap Siding provides an array of benefits throughout its service life.
Engineered for Climate®: HZ10® Products for Hot, Humid Weather
“Our approach is to rely on climate-responsive design principles that include strategies that will enable this house to protect itself from the elements and look good for years to come before any maintenance is needed,” said VISION House Austin architect, Peter Pfeiffer. “To augment these strategies we made a point to specify superior exterior cladding materials that are water-shedding as opposed to moisture absorbing, so they will continue to be durable and make for a truly sustainable home.”
Hardie® fiber cement exterior products are Engineered for Climate®, designed specifically with your climate zone in mind for optimal performance. James Hardie formulates products for specific climates with the Hardie™ Zone System that creates a substrate engineered to resist cracking, shrinking and swelling.
Our HZ10® products help protect the home from the hot, humid conditions and blistering sun in Texas. With these innovative product features, we can create the personalized design that reflects the home’s unique style – and that will be durable and resilient enough to withstand harsh climate conditions.
We are proud to be part of the VISION House Austin and other sustainable home projects. Sustainability is a never-ending journey for James Hardie. We are constantly anticipating, preparing and adapting to new circumstances, while continuing to provide high-quality solutions. Our commitment to sustainability goes beyond improving our manufacturing processes and extends to products that are developed to last longer, are low maintenance, and provide resiliency in a changing climate.
