New glass and steel spires have penetrated the skyline of Baltimore, marking a new look for a city that architects say is leaving behind its historic industrial look for the 21st century.
“I would say Baltimore?s architecture is defined mostly by its heritage, and we have a very rich heritage,” said Klaus Philipsen, president of design firm ArchPlan and a co-chair of the Urban Design Committee of the American Institute of Architects? Baltimore chapter.
“People are sort of conservative in their approach to architecture here,” Philipsen said. “This is a very typical thing in Baltimore. People … always say, ?Where?s the brick?? ”
But times are changing. Projects such as the Harbor East complex, the Constellation Energy building on Pratt Street and especially the Brown Center at the Maryland Institute College of Art have injected modernity into the city?s look.
One of the examples was the Baltimore Visitors Center along Light Street in the Inner Harbor.
“It was a project at that crossroads, [of] what should this building be,” said Chris Harvey, an architect with Design Collective who worked on the project. “There was resistance to the idea of it being different, of not being red brick. What we thought was, ?Baltimore is a much more sophisticated city, let?s push the boundaries a little.? We wanted to do something that?s kind of a surprise for people.”
Harvey and Philipsen said at least part of the changing architecture comes from the new influx of young professionals living in the city.
“With this housing boom, there?s been a lot more people living in the city,” Harvey said. “That?s fueled people not from Baltimore … wanting to live in contemporary areas.”
Many of the contemporary buildings are part of mixed-use projects such as Harbor East, a new wave of construction driving the city?s renaissance.
“I think the focus now is on more decentralization ? as you build the sub-cities, you?re focusing away from downtown and more on these other areas,” said Adam Blumenthal, executive director of the Baltimore Architecture Foundation. “I think the last 20 to 30 years you had decentralization outside the city ? Towson, Reston ? but I think it?s interesting to have a collection of high-rises within city bounds.”
Despite the new glass and steel buildings springing up in those “sub-cities,” Blumenthal said the heart of the city is still the red of brick. “Baltimore is still a brick city; some projects may be using different-colored bricks, but we?re still a brick city. It is the fabric of the city.”
