Located in Lexington, Massachusetts, Grow Box is a residence surrounded by over 40 varieties of Japanese maple trees that the homeowners lovingly maintain. The natural landscape restricted the footprint of the new house, so MERGE architects got clever with the design by creating slot gardens that allowed the trees to remain intact.

Originally posted by Caroline Williamson

The exterior is clad in a weathered steel that closely matches the bark on the surrounding trees. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame views of the trees helping to blur the separation between indoors and out.

On each side of the house, there are entryways that give the homeowners access to the yard.

A courtyard garden in the center of the house glasses in a single Himalayan birch tree that is exposed to the elements from above.

Each of the rooms has a garden that it’s paired with offering unobstructed views of it while still maintaining privacy from the neighbors and the street.

This story originally appeared on Design Milk.