architecture : Buzz

On the heels of its reopening of an expanded contemporary wing, the Baltimore Museum of Art is plotting a series of new renovations to finish in the fall of 2014, when the museum celebrates its 100th birthday.

The BMA's upcoming renovations include a re-opening of the museum's original entrance, the Dorothy McIlvain Scott American Wing and the East Wing entrance and lobby, Art Daily writes. Additional renovations that will wrap up spring 2015 include a new Asian and African art collections and  a creative learning center that will help children better relate to the art around them.

Read more about the BMA renovations here.

Interior decorators are designing a conference in Baltimore.

The Interior Design Educators Council will hold their annual meeting at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore, March 19-22. The event gets a mention in Dwell.com, which notes that keynote speaker will be Jo Heinz, a managing principle of Staffelbach in Dallas.

You can read more about it here. 

The Chris Bohl, architect-owner of a three-level penthouse overlooking Federal Hill Park, and his wife Barbara spent six months renovating the 1980s home.

Check out the pics from the WSJ here.

Don't judge a book by its cover...and in this instance don't judge a home by its seemingly modest facade, especially when two designers pull out all the stops to remodel their own home.

Here's an excerpt:

"You may not realize how close you are to Paris. You are, in fact, only as a far away as a modest cottage in Homeland. Well, "modest" isn't really the right word, because from the moment you set foot in the black and white diamond-pattern tile foyer, you'll understand that this home is anything but modest.

Dan Proctor and Jeffrey Hess purchased the home, their third purchase together, in pursuit of a design style that they had never tried before. Both designers by trade, they knew what they wanted, and were intent on achieving it. Here is their finished product."

Read the entire article here.

In her latest monthly "Letter from Baltimore," Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson takes readers on a tour of some of the city's design studios housed in interesting spaces.

Here's an excerpt:

In recent years, I've noticed more designers setting up shop in Baltimore in a variety of building types, from the archetypal Baltimore row house to the massive mills erected in the boom years of the Industrial Revolution.

My own office occupies a small but sunny corner of one of those converted mill buildings. Once a manufacturing center for the sailcloth that fueled Baltimore's famous clipper ships, this mill is now home to some 90 businesses�art galleries, publishing companies, artist and graphic studios, a postproduction space for filmmakers. I've got hardwood floors, exposed brick, a view of trees, and an easy walk from my home. The price tag: less than $250 a month.

This fall, I've been touring the studios of local designers to see inside their work spaces and get a glimpse into their creative processes. Here are a few highlights.


Read more here.