Baltimore Hills
This house was designed as a gallery for an extensive modern art collection. It is set into the northern side of a hill, preserving the hill top as an open knoll, and deferring to the high ridge of land as the principal feature of the land.
The landscape established both a counterpoint to the rational order of the architecture and in areas of intensive use around the house as an extension of this order. Broad rectangular terraces and steps that reflects the shape of the hill extend from the house to provide ease of movement, flexible venues for outdoor living, and vistas of the landscape. The house and its terraces stand in stark contrast to the irregular and varied nature of the larger property.
The variety of conditions across the site reveals opportunities for sculpture to interpret the unique topography and vegetation of the property. The drive is fitted to the site’s undulating landform, and its route traverses the slopes of the hill, revealing glimpses of the house through groves of trees, to arrive at a large terrace for parking. Richard Serra sited two massive Cor-ten steel sculptures entitled “Pink Flamingos” on the adjacent knoll to mark arrival at the house.
Location
Baltimore, MD
Dates
2004-2007
Size
7 acres
Leadership
Team
