Consumers are becoming increasingly sophisticated and expect more from the places where they live, work and play, a trend the architects and planners at Baltimore?s Hord Coplan and Macht (HCM) focus on when designing a mixed-use project.
“It?s more than just a building,” said Miguel Iraola, director of planning at HCM. “It?s about creating great places where you can stimulate 24/7 activity.”
The firm designs a variety of projects, focusing on health care, multifamily housing and education facilities.
HCM has focused on mixed-use projects because they?re efficient,conserve resources and generate community interaction. With the current housing slump, HCM?s designers say that more than ever, they have to design with the consumer in mind.
“The more people you bring to the area, the richer the environment,” said Christopher Schein, principal at HCM. “We need to create places where people can engage with each other.”
HCM designed the $9.2 million Village Lofts on St. Paul Street in Charles Village near the Johns Hopkins University. The mixed-use development includes 68 luxury condominiums, 12,600 square feet of retail space and 109 structured parking spaces.
The planners designed the street-level retail with awnings, outdoor dining areas and a wide sidewalk to “activate the streetscape” and keep people coming back, said John Lange, a senior associate with HCM.
The firm is also working outside the city, designing several large-scale, mixed-use developments along Route 1, like Elkridge Crossing, with 500 housing units and more than 100,000 square feet of new commercial space; Elkridge Village Center, with 1,024 new housing units and 320,000 square feet of new commercial space; and Patuxent Place, with 80 apartments and 16,000 square feet of retail space.
“For the homebuyer, It?s really become all about the experience,” Schein said.
HOSPITAL DESIGN
Along with its housing developments, HCM designed the new Western Maryland Health System Hospital in Cumberland, a $268 million, 275-bed, seven-story facility that will replace Memorial Hospital of Cumberland and Sacred Heart Hospital. The hospital is scheduled to be completed in fall 2009.
