IN BALTIMORE'S continuing quest to unify the east and west sides of downtown, no recent change has made a bigger difference than the partial removal of the former Hamburger's clothing store at Fayette and Charles streets.
For the first time in 30 years, it is possible to stand on the east side of Charles Street at Fayette and see the west side of town, rather than a dark tunnel, because a major visual barrier has been eliminated.
The improvements are to continue this year with the reconstruction of the last remaining fragment of the Hamburger's store as a $6.1 million Downtown Center for the Johns Hopkins University's School of Continuing Studies.
University trustees approved a design recently that calls for the former clothing store not only to be rebuilt inside for educational purposes but also to get a new exterior, mostly glass, that reflects the change in use and enlivens a key downtown intersection.
Instead of stepping back from the street, as the Hamburger's building did, the Hopkins center will have a strong, sculptural presence at the corner, with a three-story lobby overlooking Charles Street.
Between the first and second floors, an electronic news ticker will provide a stream of news and information.
At night, the building will be illuminated from within so it glows like a lantern.
"I think the design is stunning," said Stanley C. Gabor, dean of the School of Continuing Studies. "It will act as a bright beacon for Hopkins in the center of the city, reflecting its renewal and resurgence. And as a native New Yorker, I really like the electronic news ticker. It reminds me of Times Square."
Designed by Ziger/Snead Inc. & Charles Brickbauer, Architects of Baltimore, the three-story, 38,000-square-foot building will house classrooms, offices and conference facilities for the School of Continuing Studies and serve as administrative headquarters for its Graduate Division of Business and Management. It will include a library, bookstore, lounges and 220-seat auditorium.
The former Hamburger's building is owned by attorney and Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos, a Hopkins trustee who owns the One Charles Center tower and has his law offices there. After months of negotiations, Hopkins agreed last fall to move its Downtown Center there from Charles and Saratoga streets.
Architect Steve Ziger said the design team tried to simplify the building's form and convey a sense of energy and excitement. The architects also wanted to provide a "forward-looking" design that would "complement and relate to" two other modern buildings nearby, the One Charles Center office tower to the north, by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and the Harbor Federal Bank building to the west, as well as the historic B&O; building to the south.
The upper two floors will be clad in a translucent glass that will make it possible to see activity inside, while the base level will be a combination of clear glass and granite.
"We were charged with making it an open, dynamic, vibrant building," Ziger said. "It's a critical intersection. Hopkins is a major institution. Its Downtown Center needs to have the vitality and energy that's consistent not only with the site but with what's going on inside."
In a sense, the building is conceived as a counterpoint to One Charles Center because that building is tall and dark and this one will be low and light-filled. Also, One Charles Center is opaque and this one will be more transparent. Because Hopkins' building is comparatively short, facade details were designed to give it "a certain scaleless quality," so it's "a little enigmatic" how tall it is, Ziger said.
"We've tried to give a real civic presence to this otherwise relatively small building," he said. "We think there's going to be a successful dialogue between the two structures, which were once connected."
Architect hired to update Johns Hopkins master plan
The Johns Hopkins University has hired the architectural firm of Ayers/Saint/Gross in Baltimore to create a master plan to guide development of its Homewood campus. The master plan was updated in 1985, and the new one is due by June 2000.
Ayers/Saint/Gross is a specialist in campus planning and design, with clients such as the University of Virginia, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of Georgia. It also designed the Bloomberg Center for Physics and Astronomy on the Homewood campus and Hopkins' School of Nursing in East Baltimore.
Canadian architect to discuss 'maritime realism' concept
Canadian architect Brian MacKay-Lyons will discuss his work -- including beach houses along the Nova Scotia shore -- and the concept of "maritime realism" in a lecture at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Tickets cost $12 ($8 for seniors and students with identification).
Pub Date: 3/11/99