When Mark McInturff was tapped to design a bold, contemporary dwelling overlooking the Potomac River 15 years ago, he created three volumes sited to mimic a bend in the river below. According to plan, he outfitted the side volumes—or pavilions—for living and sleeping but left the center pavilion an empty shell. Eventually, his firm would complete the home’s centerpiece: a library in the central volume devoted to reading, lounging and gathering amid the owners’ extensive book collection.

In 2017, McInturff Architects launched this final phase. Today, the meticulously detailed, three-story library is the hub of the home—just as the owners envisioned. “They are patient people,” McInturff observes. “They waited until it could it be perfect.”

EXPERT INSIGHTS: Advice from architect Mark McInturff

• When selecting a material palette, each choice in the design process limits the next. You get to the point where the building tells you what you can do.
• When planning a home, pay attention to when and where the light will be in every room. Computer models can show the sun’s progress.
• One way to keep a large home’s scale manageable is to bury one story. I might also break it into parts and proportion those.

Architecture: Mark McInturff, FAIA, principal; Peter Noonan, AIA, LEED BD+C, David Mogensen, AIA, LEED AP, project architects, McInturff Architects, Bethesda, Maryland. Builder: Added Dimensions, Inc., Takoma Park, Maryland.