MAKE SPACE HOMES

1612, 1618, and 1620 McHenry Street are not just typical home renovations; they are part of a larger initiative called Make Space, an organization focused on creating a model that can be used as a solution to address Baltimore City’s vacant housing crisis. Their mission is to revitalize urban corridors with cultural competence. This involves providing ownership opportunities for residential and small-scale commercial community-owned assets, including but not limited to retail space, office space, community gardens, and gathering spaces. These McHenry Street homes are the first in a series of residential and commercial renovations within a two to three-block radius in the Mount Clare community of Southwest Baltimore. 

As a prototype for future renovations, this reinvigorated home boasts light-filled rooms with modern energy-efficient upgrades and a dedicated studio space, with each home available through a buying program hosted by Make Space. This home sets a precedent for future development by demonstrating that good, inspirational, and functional design can be for everyone. 

As 1620 McHenry is an end-of-the-block unit, Twopoint took advantage of the windows along the alley street to provide natural light-filled spaces. Double-height spaces become a source of inspiration for these artist homes. The studio and the living room use these large volumes to blend from one space to the next seamlessly. The designers used utility spaces original to the home, as functional artist studio space. One underlying characteristic of this prototype was that it allowed users to have a gallery on the main floor, open to the public.