A group of leading architects and university officials have formed a nonprofit design collaborative and are looking at 10 N. Charles Street as a possible home. The space would hold classes, lectures, design exhibits and host events.
D:Center 15-member board includes staff at the Maryland Institute College of Art, Morgan State University and the University of Maryland College Park.
"What's missing [in Baltimore] is a center or place to figure out what is going on in the area of design," says Klaus Philipsen, a Baltimore architect and D:Center's president.
The members are talking to 10 N. Charles Street's landlord, Peter Angelos' Artemis Properties Inc., about taking 40,000 square feet of space in the building once the Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business leaves in the fall for the Legg Mason Tower in Harbor East. Runing the physical location would cost between $300,000 to $1.5 million to operate, Philipsen says.
D:Center, whose board includes architecture firms
Cho Benn Holback + Associates and
Brown Craig Turner, already has an ongoing program called "design conversations" in which speakers present design-related ideas. The concept is not unlike Ignite Baltimore, Philipsen says.
Having a physical home could enable the group to house a center on Baltimore design and architecture that would attract tourists, Philipsen says. The participating universities could also host inter-collegiate architecture courses.
The downtown spot is centrally located and could attract students and tourists, Philipsen says.
"It seems like a wonderful place," Philipsen says. "We don't want to be in a neighborhood that is not central."
Source: Klaus Philipsen, D: Center
Writer: Julekha Dash