architecture

The wizard of Macomber Lane, in Columbia's Village of Oakland Mills, has cast a spell on neighbors, but his magic almost didn't work against Columbia's covenants.

Used as an estate and farm by David Maulden Perine, Baltimore¿s register of wills throughout the mid-1800s, Homeland was officially declared a community in 1924 when it was purchased by the Roland Park Co.

Once upon a time, kitchens were functional spaces closed off from the home, used purely for meal preparation. Today, the kitchen is the hub of family life, a change that is reflected in kitchen designs that call for open-plan spaces. Here we showcase three renovations that demonstrate how even an older kitchen can be transformed into a bright, flowing space appropriate for modern cooking and gathering.

Few things are as irresistible after a long day as the beckoning of a beautifully designed bathroom. Whether you¿re soaking in the tub or getting a massage from a multifunctional showerhead, it is almost impossible not to notice the star of the impeccably turned out oasis ¿ the tile.

The white beaux arts-style building in Baltimore's Mount Vernon neighborhood, known simply as 700 Washington Place, is considered by many one of the city's most elegant addresses.

What happens when Baltimore opens its doors?

A towering, white, modular-looking apartment complex could be the newest addition to the Harbor East waterfront, filling a Lancaster Street parking lot with nearly 350 residences and a block of shopping.

Sagamore Development LLC, which is planning to turn Fells Point's historic Recreation Pier into a 128-room hotel, hopes to start work on the project next month, the project manager said Tuesday.

Baltimore's National Great Blacks in Wax Museum moves forward slowly, but steadily with plans for a $75 million expansion that would quadruple its footprint, erecting a new state-of-the art institution in one of the city's more challenged communities.

A new crucifix at St. Margaret Parish, the centerpiece of the building's $1.4 million renovation, was officially made sacred during Sunday Mass.

A new Inner Harbor tower that would be among the tallest in Baltimore received design approval Thursday, with one member of the city's architecture panel describing the project as an "elegant, sophisticated building that's exciting for Baltimore."

The city's design panel on Thursday approved a master plan for a large mixed use development in East Baltimore opposite the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.

Baltimore's spending panel is expected to approve a lease agreement Wednesday with a nonprofit to renovate and reopen the old Peale Museum with a cafe, library and learning center dedicated to the city's history and architecture.

To Michelle Miller, urban interior design is all about working with light and architecture to create space. The Baltimore resident and award-winning home decor professional spoke with Chesapeake Home + Living about creating easier, more comfortable living in open lofts and narrow row houses.

The historic Rodgers Forge neighborhood in Towson has adopted guidelines for residents who want to install solar panels, hoping to strike a balance between preserving the community's architecture and embracing alternative energy.

When Paul Mueller — a custom home builder and developer — decided to renovate an historic building in Sykesville at the start of 2013, he knew it could be a lengthy process. A year and a half later, he is still working on gaining final approval and permits from multiple agencies, he said.

Peter Bowe and his wife, Barbara Stewart, chose their waterfront townhome for its location. An end unit at the tip of a pier in the HarborView complex, the home soars next to Baltimore¿s harbor, affording spectacular views, a stellar seat for Pier Six concerts and a quick, five-minute commute to Bowe¿s job as president of Ellicott Dredges in South Baltimore.

The challenge was to design a garden that evoked the familiar phrase ¿Color my world.¿ It sounds simple ¿ gardens are nothing if not colorful. Carroll Landscaping owner Robert Jones and his designer, Beth Burnham, of Baltimore County chose the color green. Then they turned the challenge inside out.

When homeowners Judy and Craig purchased 57 acres in Deale, Anne Arundel County, on which to build their dream home, they weren¿t building just a shelter from the elements or a place to keep their belongings. They were creating an environment that would be the foundation for a lifestyle.

When Ward Westrick retired, he and wife Ginny were happy to sell their home in McLean to settle on the Chesapeake Bay's calmer shores. Ward and Ginny did not want to build a home. However, after looking at as many as 50 houses from Gibson Island to Mayo and finding nothing but disappointment, they snapped up a 2.25 acre parcel on the South River in Annapolis on which to build an empty-nester's dream.

Each year, the AIA Baltimore presents its annual Design Awards, rewarding the best work of Maryland architects or projects completed in the state. This year, judges gave out two awards for residential design, both to Matthew Compton of Foundry Architects.

Projects such as historic restorations and whole-house redos reveal that beauty and excellence are in the details. Every year, the Maryland Improvement Contractor Association (MICA) selects winners for its Remodeler of the Year (ROYAL) Awards. Here, we present the ROYAL Award winners in the residential categories for 2013.

When it comes to landscape architects¿ own gardens, some are like shoemakers¿ shoes ¿ untended. Their owners are too busy making other spaces beautiful. Not so with Catherine Mahan, founding partner of Mahan Rykiel; Stuart Ortel, principal and founder of Stone Hill Design; and Carol Macht, principal and founding partner of Hord Coplan Macht.

'Finery & Finish, Embellishments on Baltimore Federal Furniture' lets viewers get one-on-one with early-1800s pieces.

Construction of a new mid-rise office building on an angular Calvert Street plot close to Penn Station could start soon.

A wrongful-conviction lawsuit has been revived against Baltimore police featured in David Simon's "Homicide," who are accused of manufacturing and inducing perjured testimony at exoneree James Owens' 1988 trial over the murder of Colleen Williar, for which he served decades in prison. Ars Technica exposes the criminal hacker history of Home Depot¿s chief IT guy, Ricky Joe Mitchell, convicted of sabotaging the network of his former employer, EnerVest Operating. RuPaul is leading a drag queen revolt against Facebook's policy requiring the real, legal name of those who keep accounts on its site.

Off a narrow lane on Ocean City¿s Assawoman Bay, Bill and Shelby Allen¿s three-story home sits regally at the water¿s edge in defiance of all elements, both natural and architectural.

Construction is expected to start this spring on the new U.S. Lacrosse headquarters, museum and hall of fame complex in Sparks, the architecture firm working on the project said Tuesday, as it released designs for the facility.

"From a family perspective and just a historical perspective, it was just devastating," Port Deposit's mayor says of the fire early Sunday that gutted the iconic building that was once Memorial Hall of the Tome School for Boys.

Students from the Carroll County area were among Virginia Tech students honored at the university's spring commencement ceremony in Lane Stadium.

Launched by BSO player to study outlook, paths for orchestras

The Bard gets new, 'Globe-ish' digs in Baltimore

With work beginning on construction of the new Youth's Benefit Elementary School building in Fallston, Harford County Public Schools is showing off an architectural rendering of what the new school will look like when it is finished in three years.

In recent years, the revitalization of Sykesville Main Street has brought economic growth and connectivity between residents and the businesses that serve them. However, many business and property owners in the historic downtown area are concerned that the development of the Warfield Complex could hinder growth — and perhaps destroy it altogether.

Baltimore design firm DDG may be based in Brewer's Hill, but it has never let Baltimore define. Its 60 employees come from 20 countries and speak more than 25 languages between them. The firm claims projects in more than 50 countries— far-flung locales that include Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, and Iraq.

Expect an abundance of blue, a sprinkling of east Asian culture and garments inspired by nature when the world's top designers present their spring fashion collections this week in New York.

One day, behind the pulpit at Grace Christian Baptist Church the wall split open.

A Baltimore architecture firm founded in 1977 by two Park School graduates and a friend has nearly doubled in size in the last two years, with its most ambitious bid for greater territory last month when it announced the expansion of its footprint to Colorado.

Concert Hall, Dance Cube coexist with English, archaeology classes

Literary tourism

The Sykesville Town Council was made aware of several amendments to ongoing projects during its last meeting which will slow commuters who use Md. 32 and ideally speed up the finalization of the plans concerning the Warfield Complex.

Havre de Grace residents and officials got their first look at schematic designs for the Havre de Grace Middle/High School replacement project Wednesday evening.

Forty years after it opened as the headquarters of the Rouse Company, the iconic white stucco building on Columbia's Lakefront will officially welcome a new tenant: Whole Foods Market. On Aug. 20, the successful grocery chain, which prides itself on its healthful offerings, will open its 44th store in the mid-Atlantic region — and its first in Howard County. The opening follows an extensive renovation of the landmark building, during which the lower level was gutted and the bottom two

It is not often that a piece of Maryland architectural history goes on the market, which is one of myriad reasons that the Springfield Estate in northern Baltimore County is such a treasure.

Beatty Development said Thursday it hopes to break ground early next year on its next building in Harbor Point — a roughly 18-story complex with 285 apartments.