Project Description
FROM AIA MARYLAND:
This under-utilized building has been transformed into a
dynamic hub of graduate and undergraduate study programs. The largest design
impact is at the first floor, where a dark, lifeless space without connection
to the main urban street it fronts was transformed into a major street presence
through large windows at the first floor lobby/gallery area and a glassy new
accessible entrance, which opens to art galleries, cafe space, and a new
lecture hall. The new design also brings natural light deep into the building
by a major cross-corridor lobby and exhibit space used to reorganize the interior.
Recently renamed to pay tribute to former, long-time President Fred Lazarus IV,
the Graduate Studio Center honors his enthusiasm for both MICA and the Greater
Baltimore community.
Jury quote: "The thoughtfulness of the modern interventions create tension
and contrast, with a sense of restraint , in this beautiful restoration of the existing
historic architecture."