National Aquarium Waterfront Campus Plan

Project Details

Project Description

FROM AIA MARYLAND:
Much of the history of urban waterfronts is a story of economic enterprise and human alteration—often at the expense of a broader aquatic community. Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and the Chesapeake Bay are no exception. In pre-Columbian times, the Bay was a species-rich environment used by indigenous populations as a source of food and other natural resources. Acres of tidal salt marsh fringed the Bay, and throughout the lower Bay, abundant oyster reefs thrived at significant depths. Attracted by the abundance, Europeans settled the area. The new built environment of towns and cities altered habitats, replacing forest and salt marsh with hardscapes, buildings, and seawalls s facilitate commercial shipping and industry.

Jury Comments:
Through interdisciplinary design work, creating dynamic welcoming educational Public Space while restoring ecosystems and providing a living lab as a model toward resiliency in the built & natural environment. The images and diagrams with before & after examples clearly describe the intent and the solutions. These goals of advancing water quality, restoring watershed habits and renewing civic infrastructure are critical 21st century issues being addressed in this Master Planning through collaborative overall design excellence.