Archinect - News

Maryland officials announce design contract for collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge reconstruction

2024-09-07T12:00:00-04:00

The Maryland Department of Transportation has awarded the contract to rebuild the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge to Kiewit, a national infrastructure development firm with extensive experience in similar projects and a reported $17.1 billion in revenues last year. The AP reports the design contract is worth $73 million. Officials released the RFP in June following the March 26th disaster and will grant "exclusive rights" to the company for its second construction phase, which is expected to stretch into 2028. The total cost of reconstruction is expected to surpass $1.7 billion.

Webuild and Carlo Ratti propose replacement for Baltimore’s collapsed Key Bridge following tragedy

2024-05-03T15:28:00-04:00

Today, the Webuild group advanced a proposal designed in collaboration with architect and MIT professor Carlo Ratti and French structural engineer Michel Virlogeux for a new bridge in Baltimore that would replace the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge.

The design, which was released ahead of next week’s preliminary reconstruction forum called by the Maryland Transportation Authority, calls for a cable suspension span totaling 2,300 feet with a 213-foot clearance and offering wider lanes and increased vessel navigation safety, structural maintenance monitoring technology, smart traffic management, and enhanced connection to the Harbor area.

Webuild had already famously contributed to the rapid reconstruction of Renzo Piano’s Morandi bridge replacement in Genoa, Italy, after the deadly 2018 collapse that killed 43 people. The company is also expecting to begin constructing what will become the world's longest suspension bridge over the Strait of Messina by the end of the year.

Render...

Four contemporary East Coast homes by Bates Masi + Architects: Your Next Employer?

2024-02-26T10:50:00-05:00

Following last week’s visit to Santa Monica-based KoningEizenberg, we are moving our Meet Your Next Employer series to New York this week to explore the work of Bates Masi + Architects.

From their studios across New York City and East Hampton, the five-decades-old firm operates along a principle that each project regardless of type or scale offers “the opportunity to enrich lives and enhance the environment.” The studio has built a varied portfolio of urban and suburban residences, schools, offices, hotels, restaurants, retail, and furniture, adding that “the attention to all elements of design has been a constant in the firm’s philosophy.”

Over on Archinect Jobs, the firm is currently hiring for an Architectural Designer to join their East Hampton office. For candidates interested in applying for a position, or anybody interested in learning about the firm’s output, we have rounded up four contemporary residential projects on the East Coast by Bates Masi + Architects that exemplify...

Cooper Robertson unveils campus master plan for the University of Maryland

2024-01-10T13:54:00-05:00

Details of a new comprehensive master plan by Cooper Robertson for the University of Maryland’s flagship campus in College Park were revealed Tuesday by the firm following its initial announcement in March of last year.

By prioritizing strategies for “holistic growth,” the university says it will be able to meet its slate of strategic development goals that include increasing institutional resilience, achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2025, improving transit options and pedestrian access on campus, making facilities improvements, enhancing connectivity between the campus and D.C. metro region, and preparing for a more diverse future.

Rendering courtesy Cooper Robertson

“This plan builds on the University of Maryland’s role as an ambitious, forward-looking, and value-driven academic institution,” Cooper Robertson partner and UMD alum Mike Aziz said. “By embracing its legacy of distinction in a modern and strategic program, the university is setting a highly sustainable and lasti...

Gensler and Gilbane will revamp M&T Bank Stadium for the Baltimore Ravens

2023-12-18T13:27:00-05:00

Gensler and Gilbane Building Company have announced the design for a major renovation of the 25-year-old M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The home of the Baltimore Ravens NFL franchise is set to undergo a list of stadium enhancements that will bring the fan experience in line with other professional sports entities, including the addition of social spaces, club experiences, dining, and expansion of its concourse and plaza areas near Camden Yards.

Three new membership clubs will be delivered at the field level on the west, north, and south corners of the stadium, with another suite area added above the West End Zone Club by 2025.

Image: © Baltimore Ravens Photos

Other upgrades include an upper-level concourse expansion that will add an additional 12,000 square feet of space in three locations, the construction of a new two-level “Baltimore Style” fan area called the Gatehouse totaling 5,000 square feet, and enhancements to the North and South plazas to c...

Dr. Abimbola Asojo is the new dean of Morgan State University's School of Architecture and Planning

2023-05-10T14:22:00-04:00

Morgan State University's School of Architecture and Planning has announced the appointment of Dr. Abimbola O. Asojo as the school's new dean.

Dr. Asojo is the second dean in the school's history following the tenure of former dean Mary Anne Akers, the school's founding dean who held the position for 14 years.

With over 25 years of experience as an educator, architect, writer, and academic leader, Dr. Asojo's academic work has focused on "cross-cultural design, architectural lighting design, African architecture, computing and design, global issues, sustainable design, and K-12 spaces."

She has held teaching and leadership positions at the University of Minnesota, where she served as the school's associate dean for faculty at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs and a professor of Interior Design at the School of Architecture at the College of Design for 12 years.

Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. Image courtesy of Morgan State.

In addition to being a lic...

Heatherwick Studio unveils first public library design in Howard County, Maryland

2023-03-31T17:07:00-04:00

Heatherwick Studio has released details of their first commissioned public library project in the town of Columbia, Maryland.

Featuring a climbable façade, the five-story library opens to the city’s main promenade with a double-height atrium and a series of transversing exterior terraces lined with native plant species while providing sweeping views of nearby Lake Kittamaqundi.

The studio says its design is meant to “reflect the changed role of the library and serve a community with a rich heritage of fostering diversity and promoting wellbeing.”

Image: Devisual for Heatherwick Studio

Columbia was first developed as a planned community under the progressive vision of founder James Rouse, a prominent local developer known for espousing his conception of “cities as gardens for the growing of people.” Their contribution, therefore, looks to honor this legacy and will serve as a font for educational programs and other activities in line with Rouse’s philosophy.

Image: Devisual for Heat...

Michael Graves Architecture is expanding with the acquisition of Waldon Studio Architects

2022-03-08T13:35:00-05:00

A major ten-year strategic plan of one of the most high-profile firms on the East Coast is underway after Michael Graves Architecture & Design announced its acquisition of the smaller Waldon Studio Architects, which was founded in 2003.

The New York, Washington, and Princeton-based Graves is expanding its footprint further down the Northeast Corridor with the acquisition of the 39-member office, which has operations in Baltimore, DC, and in Howard County.

Waldon had previously acquired another smaller Baltimore-based practice called Kann Partners in 2018 and is currently one of the largest firms in the city with $5.42 million in architectural billings reported for the year 2020, according to Baltimore Business Journals. Waldon’s founder and current principal, Ravi Waldon, will retain his title and serve as head of any religious projects for the new combined entity after the transition.

Graves’ ...

What we can learn from EwingCole and their net-zero building Unisphere

2019-12-26T14:55:00-05:00

In Silver Spring, Maryland, the 135,000 square foot building pushes the boundaries of a net-zero building. With its completion in 2018, the building was built in collaboration with United Therapeutics, a biotech company, and Whiting-Turner Contracting.

Unisphere. Image © EwingCole

With the push for mitigating carbon emissions and improving sustainability efforts for new architectural projects, Unisphere approaches the task by implementing a mixture of technologies to have the building become fully sustainable.

Unisphere. Video © EwingCole

According to Marlene Cimons of Quartz, Unisphere consists of "thousands of devices feeding into a powerful computer "nerve center" that tracks energy use and coordinates heating, cooling, and other operations."A few examples of sustainability efforts are the windows that automatically darken when temperatures outside increase and the concrete labyrinth 12 feet underneath the building that acts as a passive heating and c...

Frank Gehry's Merriweather Post Pavilion roof collapses during renovation

2018-01-25T13:21:00-05:00

One of architect Frank Gehry’s earliest public buildings collapsed this month as it was nearing the end of a five-year, $55 million renovation, forcing the owners to revise their plans. The roof of the Merriweather Post Pavilion, a 19,000-seat open-air concert venue in Columbia, Maryland, crashed down in the middle of the night on Saturday, January 13, burying the seating below. No one was injured.

The concert pavilion was designed by Frank Gehry, Walsh, and O'Malley in 1967 and is being renovated to maintain presence among other performing arts centers. The design team opted to keep the original roof seeing it as the defining element of Gehry's design and were in the process of raising it 20 feet on hydraulic lifts improving sightlines when it collapsed.

Merriweather Post Pavilion, image via Youtube

So far a cause for the collapse has not been disclosed. This incident marks the concert pavilion as one of the first major Frank Gehry buildings to be considerably lost or modified despite efforts to retain its architectural integrity.

Renovated Merriweather Post Pavilion rendering by JP2 Architects. Image: JP2 Architects.

Gehry Partners is not a part of the renovation design team headed up by JP2 Architects, but was briefed on the project. A new roof will be built in time for this summer's concert season with the first show scheduled for July.

12 innovative architects (and women) of Maryland

2016-01-07T02:08:00-05:00

We just really felt that it was important to capture these stories, before they disappeared, even when finding information proved very difficult,” says Storms. “You see how history sort of evaporates—and then it’s like it doesn’t exist.

Over at What Weekly, Jessica Kim Cohen reviews an extensively detailed exhibit (launched/organized by the members of the Women in Architecture Committee of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Baltimore Chapter) entitled “Early Women of Architecture in Maryland” which is on display downtown at the central branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library until January 16.

h/t @Fred Scharmen

Callison and RTKL merge in hopes to "bring swagger back" to Seattle office, CEO says

2015-10-20T20:06:00-04:00

On Tuesday, Callison and architecture/engineering firm RTKL announced they have officially joined forces as CallisonRTKL...[CEO Lance] Josal said the merger is good news for both firms and 'especially for the Seattle office.' In talking to the firm's senior leaders, Josal said there has been 'a little bit of frustration on their part' because they felt the firm 'may have lost a bit of swagger locally' and wanted an owner that would invest in the firm...

Previously on Archinect:

ARCADIS to buy Callison

Get Lectured: University of Maryland, Fall '14

2014-10-22T14:06:00-04:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Fall 2014

Say hello to another edition of Archinect's Get Lectured! As a refresher, we'll be featuring a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. If you're not doing so already, be sure to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

We have two posters today from the University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

Below are upcoming lectures only. All lectures are open to the public and take place in the Architecture Building Auditorium, 0204, unless noted otherwise. Exhibitions located at Kibel Gallery.

Lectures with ** focus on Landscape and Urban Design (see poster below)

Oct. 22 **
5:00 p.m.
Iñaki Aldayaki Alday / AldayJover Arquitectura y Paisaje
“Hyper-real Drivers”

Oct. 27
6:30 p.m.
Omar Blaik / Principal - U3 Ventures
“A University in the City:...