In the late 1960s, Houston was a hot topic. Driven by NASA’s push to land on the moon and a cadre of fearless astronauts, it was truly a city of the future. So when the National Association of Home Builders held its annual show at the Astrodome, a demonstration house dubbed “Style In Steel” was all anyone could talk about.

The project was actually three townhouses in Meyerland – a two-story home flanked by two single-stories’ – and used steel in the structure itself as well as inside in finishes and furnishings. Sponsored by the American Iron & Steel Institute as well as Houston Lighting & Power and General Electric, they showed off the latest home electric products and touted the advantages of building homes with steel.

In the case of this home, the big steel beams that you can fully see inside the home allow for longer open spans and simpler detailing inside, hallmarks of modern design.

Now, nearly 60 years old, the center townhome is in its second act after a thorough renovation by owners Philip and Mandy LeBlanc, along with Philip’s longtime friend, architect Rodolfo Fabre of Rodolfo R. Fabre Design. Philip LeBlanc is a trained architect and the founder of FORMATION, a firm that specializes in environmental graphics.

The LeBlancs’ home will be one of eight on AIA Houston’s annual home tour, set for Oct. 18-19.

Other homes on the architecture-driven tour are in the Memorial area, the Heights, and Woodland Heights. There’s also a modern farmhouse out in the country, past Brookshire.

The LeBlancs had lived in The Woodlands for a couple of decades, and when Philip laid eyes on a real estate listing for the townhome, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. It quickly went off the market, but he tracked down the owner and made an offer, buying it in 2020.

The original architectural drawings were available, and the house had gotten so much national publicity back in 1969 that it was easy to find old copies of “Architectural Digest,” “Architectural Record,” “Professional Builder,” and even “Brides” magazines, where it was featured.

Its pedigree extends further: it was designed by architects Talbott Wilson and Hal Weatherford of the firm Wilson, Morris, Crain & Anderson, who also designed the Astrodome.

“What’s great about the house is that the architects’ intent is crystal clear,” says Fabre. “There’s no guessing. It has a beautiful order and beautiful intent.”

Restoration of the home already earned Fabre and the LeBlancs a 2023 Houston Mod Preservation Award and a 2024 Good Brick Award from Preservation Houston. It’s likely that more attention is coming for this modern marvel.

Historic preservation often is about peeling back layers of change. For the LeBlancs’ home, it meant removing a gabled roof, a small third story, and an elevator that a prior owner had added. They restored the flat roof that the home came with and restored the small carport that allows for two parallel-parked cars.

The home has a dramatic “forecourt,” a sort of modern front porch with an open roof and an exoskeleton that is a cedar screen that shields the space from the worst heat and sun.

A prior owner had put a roof over the forecourt to make it an air-conditioned space, but Fabre and the LeBlancs returned it to its original design.

From the street, the cedar screen makes the townhome look like a big wooden box, but it’s actually a big glass box, since huge glass panes comprise front and back walls, giving views to the forecourt in front or small gardens in back.

Inside, the master bedroom got a newly configured and much more usable closet and bathroom thanks to Fabre’s deft hand, and visitors will see the LeBlancs’ love of midcentury style and modern art throughout the home.

Lighting specialist and artist Michael John Smith is a neighbor, and one of his large, sculptural lightboxes decorates one end of the living room. Elsewhere, you’ll see paintings by David Adickes and Andy Dearwater.

“I want people to be interested in buying homes that are potentially endangered, but are interesting architecturally, and feel like it’s an opportunity to make something special,” says Philip. “There are some things that I might do differently, but I would definitely do this again.”

AIA Houston Home Tour

Get your tickets today!

When: noon-6 p.m. Oct. 18-19

Tickets: $10 single-house ticket, $35 full-tour advance ticket, $40 the weekend of the tour.

Homes: 8327 Hunter’s Creek Dr., by Blazar Studio; 11800 Wink Road, by studioMET architects; 37448 Bains Lane, by studioMET architects; 4158 Meyerwood Dr., by Rodolfo R. Fabre Design and FORMATION; 443 Hunterwood, by Dillon Kyle Architects; 2063 Cortlandt St., by Ordinary Architecture Practice; 1219 Northwood St., by Albany Studio; 1102 Euclid St., by Brett Zamore Design