STORY-BASED
DESIGN
GWWO STRIVES TO ENRICH THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE THROUGH RESPONSIBLE DESIGN THAT IS INSPIRATIONAL, EVOCATIVE AND PROGRESSIVE. 2 | GWWO ARCHITECTS
Story-based design is the focused, in-depth exploration of a project’s context—cultural, historical and physical. GWWO’s work is driven by a consistent philosophical approach, rather than a predetermined style. Our philosophy is founded in the exploration of the relationships between narrative and context. We believe that for architecture to be truly meaningful, it should expand the traditional notions of context—setting, scale, massing, materiality—to include the cultural and historical aspects of the site and organization. Through extensive research into each project, we discover the essential component of context that can inextricably tie architecture to its setting. Once established, this core idea is rigorously adhered to and influences every aspect of the design. Utilizing this story-based design approach, a unique response for each project unfolds.
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“ By drawing every student in to encounter and enjoy drama, music and visual art, the GWWO design [returns] the arts to their rightful place: at the heart of the Washington College experience.” — Baird Tipson, retired President, Washington College
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Washington College Gibson Center for the Arts Originally stoic and inward-looking, the existing Gibson Hall did little to reveal the performing arts to the campus and was a looming presence on the College’s main academic square. Inside, the Music and Drama Departments shared overcrowded facilities that were inadequate to fulfill their missions. The expanded and renovated Performing Arts Center puts the arts “on stage” and engages the larger campus community in the arts. The transparent entry façade invites onlookers and encourages interaction, while the translucent recital hall serves as a visual beacon during evening performances. New exterior gathering areas and amphitheater-like steps enliven the square and offer a setting for impromptu practice and performance. The new building houses state-of-the-art teaching and performance spaces. Like the melody in a musical composition or the plot of a play, an undulating Theme Wall organizes the key interior spaces and provides a method of harmoniously merging disparate program elements into a cohesive whole. The two departments each retain their own unique features, yet are united in their focus on the arts.
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Located on a highly visible site, the Gibson Center for the Arts is a campus anchor. The College desired a modern, progressive design to draw people in, while respecting the character of the surrounding campus and integrating with the various styles of the other buildings constructed on or near the square in the 60s, 70s and 90s. The design intent was not only to make a statement, but to give a physical identity to the academic departments housed within the center.
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Designing for the Performing Arts Creating dynamic and flexible spaces for teaching, performing, and viewing requires thoughtful consideration of programmatic functions and technical requirements. Modern performance spaces demand high versatility allowing for multiple stage configurations and performance formats along with flexibility for fluctuating audience sizes. Areas for socially-friendly seating promote interaction before and after the performance, raising the overall level of engagement. Technical features such as lighting, acoustics, and sightlines—all critically evaluated at each phase by the design team—should positively impact the experience, yet remain imperceptible to the audience allowing the focus to remain on the performance.
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“Top notch firm. The staff are very responsive to client needs. Innovative designs that are ‘buildable.’ I would highly recommend GWWO ...” —S am Beeghley, Project Manager, Community College of Baltimore County
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Community College of Baltimore Mathematics & Science Hall The new Mathematics and Science Hall at CCBC celebrates the sciences and provides a striking transition between the adjacent campus loop road and parking and the campus interior and academic quad. Serving as a central gathering and circulation space, a two-story glass atrium connects both spaces and students, unifying the renovated former library and new addition. Massing of the new complex is broken down into three components: atrium, planetarium, and laboratories. Field stone, brick, and zinc—materials found throughout campus—are expressed in horizontal lines and clad the laboratory volume, further breaking down its mass, while playing against the vertical drum form of the planetarium to create a dynamic asymmetrical composition. Field stone was chosen as a nod to the historicity of the campus, while the zinc is a modern interpretation of traditional zinc cladding on farm buildings, such as tin roofs. The new facility, which is a physical gateway to the quad, also serves as a metaphorical gateway to workforce and career success. CCBC is providing the opportunity for students who may otherwise not attend, or go back to, school to learn in the highest quality collegiate space with advanced technology they would find at four year, specialized institutions.
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Evidence overwhelmingly suggests that students who participate in collaborative learning are more likely to retain a higher level of knowledge from informal and social interactions over lecture-style instruction. This shift has grossly expanded the opportunities for learning outside of the classroom. Collaboration happens naturally where there is flexibility and comfort, thus spaces must be designed to appeal to a broad variety of student personalities and usage including size, visibility, and technology. Defined spaces— from benches outside of classrooms to soft seating areas— located along main circulation routes promote spontaneous interaction. Meeting rooms with flexible furniture, accessible technology, and views out engage small groups and advance creativity. GWWO ARCHITECTS | 13
“GWWO combines exceptional design talent & expertise with excellent customer service.” — David Mayhew, FAIA, Director, Architecture & Engineering, Towson University
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Towson University West Village Commons Organized around a central atrium, the Commons was envisioned as the iconic anchor and landmark center of the West Village precinct. The building communicates the spirit and energy of the campus, offering a vibrant inviting space, both in and out. The exterior expression of the Commons, the design of the interior gathering spaces, and the open, multi-floor circulation core, as well as the selection of materials and finishes, all play significant roles in breathing life into the facility and making students feel at home. Drawing students in, the building provides opportunities for out-of-class learning through both formal and informal spaces. Exterior terraces and dining areas integrate the building with the site and promote interaction between the building and the Village’s main quad. The building achieved LEED Gold Certification and includes energy efficient features such as natural lighting, numerous water conservation measures, and a green roof. The roof serves as a practical cooling system and also as a third floor outdoor event and gathering space. The project’s design further preserves, integrates and embraces the existing specimen Elm tree, one of the largest and oldest in the state, located on the east side of the project site.
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The building is a “bridge” focused on forging connections—within the precinct and with the adjacent off-campus residential housing. Rotation of the building’s third and fourth levels from the grounded lower levels responds to the steeply sloped site, engaging the hill, bridging the access road, and allowing multiple on-grade access and egress points. Exterior terraces and dining areas further integrate the building with the site and promote interaction between the building and the precinct’s main quad. A projecting area of glazing terminates a campus axis and ties the new building to its adjacent green space to the north.
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State of the Art Dining Experiences Creating meaningful dining experiences for today’s discerning students focuses on multiple offerings, transparency, and flexibility. Students crave options, including customizable meals and varying cuisines that rotate daily; desire restaurant-style experiences including fresh preparation as you wait, visible nutritional information, and high-quality finishes; and want convenient, expanded service hours, grab and go options, and quick service. Comfortable and moveable furnishings, solo and group dining options, and accessible outdoor areas, engage and encourage collaboration between diners, foster longer stays, and create a vibrancy that permeates throughout.
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“Another exemplary design effort by GWWO... It is rare that project teams come together as well as yours did with our campus and committees.” — Baird Tipson, retired President, Washington College
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Washington College Hodson Hall To return the College’s only dining and student center to prominence, a grim 1965 addition was demolished, and a new addition was added to bring more natural light, modern amenities, and campus connectivity to the facility. Integrating the old and new, the design enhances and highlights the architecture of the original building, while seamlessly establishing a more modern design aesthetic to give the building to a more contemporary image. Conceived as a set of bookends with a minimal modern link, the addition is comprised of a glass and slate central volume anchored by a traditional form opposite historic building. The traditional aesthetic also responds to the historic character of the College and surrounding town. Entrances on the north and south allow students to filter in and out of the building from both ends of campus. Designed as a series of nodes, the interior is organized around a central thoroughfare between the two entrances. Student activity spaces, dining, and a large egg-shaped multipurpose room are visually connected to this main circulation route. The flexible “egg� can be closed up for private events or opened for performance overflow and additional dining. A grand stair spills into the central space with wedge shaped openings to dining above, filtering light down from a skylight. Second level dining is broken up by two pods that provide students with alternative, 22 | GWWO ARCHITECTS
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Existing
New
Existing
New
Revitalization of Existing Facilities Many of the firm's most creative and sustainable design solutions have been developed through our work with renovation and revitalization projects. These projects have involved full gut renovations and space reconfigurations, as well as systemic renovations, and we pride ourselves in applying the same level of design rigor to these projects as we do new buildings. Many of our renovations for higher education facilities involve the preservation of historic buildings, an expertise in which we have an extensive and successful past.
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"This building symbolizes a new era at MICA. It demonstrates MICA's commitment to meld design thinking, art making, entrepreneurship and realworld collaboration for 21st century creativity and innovation." — Samuel Hoi, President, MICA
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Maryland Institute College of Art Dolphin Building The new Dolphin Design Center at the Maryland Institute College of Art is a state-of- the-art maker building designed to house program space for MICA’s product design, architectural design and interactive arts/ game design departments as well as fabrication and exhibit spaces. Toted as the third industrial revolution, the Maker Movement continues to thrive. The accessibility of personal technology coupled with a desire for self-reliance and original works has given rise to this new culture. Centered on the concepts of self-directed learning and collaboration, makers learn new skills and create by doing, both receiving and offering insight to those around them. The informal, open studio spaces of the Dolphin Design Center allow for hands-on exploration of a wide range of project types and sizes. Flexible power access and moveable furniture encourage students and faculty to move around—interacting with others, sharing resources and knowledge, and solving challenges.
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Sited at the edge of the Bolton Hill Historic District, a Baltimore neighborhood on the National Register of Historic Places, the building is highly sensitive to its context in scale, massing, and color while a “kit of parts” exterior material palette, assembled with visible mechanical connections and fasteners, hint to the innovation and invention happening within, while also serving as a tool for learning and exploration. The interior of the building is industrial and gritty, with exposed ceilings, HVAC systems, and structural connections. The exposed steel structure of the new building relates to the neighborhood buildings adjacent to its site, and details and materials throughout reflect those of the train station’s, allowing this modern building to seamlessly integrate into the overall site.
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“We are also extremely proud of our satellite building near Harford Community College's campus ... This LEED Silver building was also delivered under budget and has become an excellent representation of Towson University.” — David Mayhew, FAIA, Director, Architecture & Engineering, Towson University
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Towson University in Northeastern Maryland Understanding that much of contemporary learning is collaborative and active, the center focuses on a central learning commons. Two masonry wings are lodged into the slope as rock formations creating a central commons between them, which becomes an extension of the sloping meadow. This space is visually and physically connected to the land and makes the academic center inextricably tied to its location. Towson University in Northeastern Maryland is a classroom facility integrating alternative learning and social environments within the formal classroom program spaces of the building. The site is a sloping meadow ringed by mature stands of trees and oriented westward to vast open views. Inspired by the powerful rural landscape of the site, the building is designed as a ‘learning garden’. The central commons ‘learning garden’ offers students the space for collaborative and social learning. The academic center is on track to achieve a LEED-Silver certification through a ventilated rain screen façade, solar shading and bio retention.
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Responsible Design As designers and stewards of the built environment, we take seriously our obligation to make smart, thoughtful, and innovative design decisions today that will affect tomorrow’s future. We embrace and balance this responsibility—continually striving to preserve not only the natural, but also the cultural and historical environments—with our duty to provide the best design solutions for each client. To us, sustainability is more than just achieving certification: it is about designing responsibly, a tenet at the core of our mission. All encompassing, this mindset influences everything we do, from proper siting and comprehensive programming efforts to the more common sustainable strategies related to materials selection, water conservation, energy usage, and efficiencies. Ultimately, we design for less environmental impact and consumption and more efficiency, savings, and sensitivity. GWWO ARCHITECTS | 37
GWWO, Inc./Architects 800 Wyman Park Drive, Suite 300 Baltimore, MD 21211 www.gwwoinc.com