‘Floating Box House’ sells for $10.95M

The Floating Box House—a contemporary, almost entirely glass home that is one of the most distinctively designed in the city, as well as being one of the longest on the market—went under the radar (or our radar, anyway) and sold last month for $10.95 million, or $3.95 million less than its asking price.

Original owners commissioned architect Peter Gluck to design the place, which was finished in 2005. The highly recognizable home is sited on more than four Live-Oak-covered acres in West Lake Hills, a suburb often cited as Austin’s most expensive neighborhood.

It also looks uncannily like what its name suggests, being a three-tier structure that sits atop a glass living room and modern kitchen, with a sunken grass courtyard that connects the living space of the bottom tier—thereby integrating the outside environment with the interior one. Somehow, its abundance of glass allows both complete privacy and unobstructed downtown views.

The home, which was first listed on the market in 2015, with the sellers looking to fetch “something in the $20M range,” saw some price adjustments (as well as a cameo in Terrence Malick’s 2017 film Song to Song, shot in Austin) and was on and off the market over the next two years (a long selling period is not unusual when one gets to the top tiers of Austin real estate).

In addition to its twist on modern design, which incorporates the surrounding grounds, the 10,563-square-foot home has seven bedrooms, eight-and-a-half bathrooms, and a more traditional, detached, two-bedroom guesthouse.

• 900 Live Oak Circle [Moreland Properties]