Project spotlight: The Knolly project Kenneth Micheal, AIA

Project spotlight: The Knolly Project

Above: Knolly site plan In 2019, T3XTURE, an annual international publication for architects, designers and artists, collaborated with AIA Baltimore and the Baltimore Architectural Foundation (BAF) Spring Lecture Series to promote innovative thinking about the water’s edge, specifically addressing the Baltimore waterfront via a competition that promotes sustainable design and architecture along the water’s edge. The 2015 Baltimore Waterfront Partnership’s Healthy Harbor Initiative goal of a swimmable and fishable inner harbor by the year 2020 served as a premise for the 2019 AIA Baltimore and BAF Spring Lecture Series design competition.

The submission entry illustrated in this article is by local architect Kenneth Michel, AIA, NCARB, of APECx, LLC. APECx is an MBEcertified architecture firm in Granite, Maryland, with a focus on sustainable architecture and design.

Multi-disciplinary teams of architects, planners, and landscape architects were challenged to address waterfront issues concerning sustainability, resiliency, health, ecology, and questions about the future of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The following goals served as driver’s for the 2019 AIA Baltimore and BAF Spring Lecture Series design competition:

“The Knollies Project is whimsical and certainly adds a flair of fun. The concept speaks to the swimmable and fishable harbor & acknowledges the history of lighthouses to the harbor and bay.” — Jury Comments

Above: Harbor skyline

Above: Aerial view of Inner Harbor construction, and will have three main sections: A gallery deck for the selling of goods and services and housing living quarters, public access points for fishing and swimming, and a third section that serves as a tank for rainwater harvesting and light beacon. Each Knolly will educate the community on harbor cleanup and pollution prevention. The Knollies are an architectural representation of Baltimore’s past and give organization to the new and displaced urban park, engaging people to navigate along the water’s edge and throughout the city. Learn more at www.APECx.com/the-knolly-project.

• A swimmable and fishable harbor edge • The connection between the city and harbor • Spatial equity and an accessible harbor • Community engagement and sustainable education • Public engagement and the natural environment

Project Description: The Knolly project aims to reimagine Baltimore’s Inner Harbor by redefining the historic Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse along the water’s edge. The scheme is based on a point grid system that visually and intangibly connects the city and the harbor by extending the city’s streets through the water’s edge. The grid provides a layout for the distribution of “Knollies” at 400-foot intervals.

The project enhances the connection between the city and the harbor by engaging city residents and visitors via a grid system of modules or “Knollies” that are both reflective of Baltimore’s history and are native to the environment. The grid’s intersections set up the scene for “event” architecture that houses activities such as concerts, art exhibitions, bathing, fishing, swimming, playing, dining, living, selling, and working. The grid provides inclusion and accessibility to “event” architecture via the spatial equity of goods and services. The Knollies are proposed to be self-sustainable, of modular Above: The Knolly

Kenneth D. Michel, AIA, NCARB

Kenneth is the founder and principal architect at APECx, LLC and has expertise in sustainable design and construction and is an active contributor to the AEC community.