Tennis Court in the Sky
A client of ours in Lakeway, Texas had reservations about whether they had sufficient space to add a tennis court in their steep backyard. Rather than orienting the court parallel to the hillside, we cantilevered the structure off the hillside — a gravity-defying solution that preserved much more of the backyard and saved several mature oak trees.
The back half of this dramatic court sits on concrete, while the elevated portion extends over 60 feet in the air, supported by a steel structure painted green to harmonize with the surrounding landscape.
The court surface also serves for rainwater collection, stored in large tanks beneath the court and purified for use as drinking water. Adjacent to the court we designed a small “court house” in the Spanish colonial style of the main residence, containing a kitchen, entertaining area and bathroom, alongside an elevated stone deck for spectators.
The only other tennis court in the sky that we know of was intended for the Burj Al Arab hotel in Abu Dhabi.
