First the Allee, then the House

In Mount Airy, Maryland, a couple living in a modular home on eight country acres for the past 20 years decided some time back to plant an allee of 53 pin oaks at the center of their property.

Then they built a barn for their 1949 Farmall tractor, and tore down their original modular home, leaving the foundation to pose as 21st century ruins.

Their axis of trees would lead nowhere at all, until they called in McInturff Architects to terminate it with a new home.

“We designed a little two-bedroom house,” said Mark McInturff. “It’s a moderately inexpensive home for a couple with no kids and a couple of dogs, who are very athletic and like to spend a lot of time outdoors. They live very modestly”

Their new home reflects all that. It’s 1,500 square feet, and two stories with the porch and main living area on top of a porte cochere. “We discovered that if you got ten feet up in the air, there were fabulous views of the long rolling hills in Maryland’s farm country,” he said.

Its materials are the manifestation of simplicity itself: corrugated metal, painted cement board and a smattering of treated mahogany.

“This was a labor of love,” Mark said. “We knew we had a great client, that we could do something fun, and so we went after it.”

And at the end of the allee, they’ve made their mark.

For more on McInturff Architects, go to http://www.mcinturffarchitects.com/index.html