Home & Design

The home’s pared-down material palette includes concrete floors, concrete-block walls, steel and glass.

Ottostumm windows and doors overlook the wooded site. Light conditions shift over days and seasons.

Majer Metal Works created the stainless-steel countertops while Steel Kitchen Corp fabricated the cabinets. The masonry core contains utilities and a square spiral stair leading to multi-use rooms on the second floor.

Woodland Aerie

McInturff Architects conceives a glass-enclosed retreat surrounded by nature
Grand Award Contemporary Architecture
McInturff Architects

The owners of a wooded site in Owings Mill, Maryland, enlisted McInturff Architects to design a home where they could live and work in sync with nature. The team devised a simple structure made of steel, concrete, wood and glass that rests on a concrete plinth; solid masonry walls bookend it, while long, glass façades take in forest views. A large, open room containing the kitchen and living, dining and workspaces occupies one end with a bedroom and gym on the other. A central masonry core encloses bathrooms, stairs and mechanicals. Two small rooms perch on a minimal second floor. “The privacy provided by the wooded site allows the open living space the clients desired,” observes Mark McInturff, “with a constant connection to nature.”

Incredibly disciplined and beautiful approach to a stark but rich design. Perfecto!”
— Stephen J. Vanze, jurist

Architecture: Mark McInturff, FAIA; Jeffrey McInturff, McInturff Architects. Builder: Design Alternatives, Inc.

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