Situated on a curving bank high above the Guadalupe River, the site for River Bend Residence is a densely vegetated upland with steep slopes and shallow bedrock. The design prioritized the preservation of native mountain laurels, Ashe junipers, and other understory trees in order to allow the three new residential structures to blend into the hillside. Restoring disturbance from their construction, the placement of a few key flowering trees and deer-resistant shrubs softens the Corten steel facades and supplies seasonal interest along the limestone slab pathways and at a small seating area in front of the house. Stacked quarry blocks retain grade at the driveway and form planting pockets, mimicking the natural limestone cliffs of the river’s edge. Steel bar grate steps and walkways traverse the slope and float over drainage swales that divert stormwater runoff around the buildings, dispersing it down the hillside to minimize erosion.