BIG wins competition to design Maryland university student center

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Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) has won an international competition to design the new student center for Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. Images courtesy BIG
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) has won an international competition to design the new student center for Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) has been selected as designer of the new student center for Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, after a months-long international design competition led by a special advisory committee.

Students and staff were included in the process. More than 1200 students, faculty, staff, and alumni responded to a June survey, inviting evaluation of the four design finalists. Feedback on BIG’s concept was rcs data overwhelmingly positive, with survey respondents embracing the building’s open feel, connections to surrounding exterior spaces, abundance of natural daylight, and integrated features that support the university’s sustainability goals. BIG has teamed up with Shepley Bulfinch as architect of record, with Rockwell Group for interior design and Michael Van Valkenburg Associates for landscape design.

The approximately 13,935-m2 (150,000-sf) building will include spaces for relaxation and socialization, creative and performing arts, student resources and support services, lounges, a digital media center, a performance area with seating for 200 people, and a dynamic dining hall connecting directly onto a new plaza along the nearby Charles Street. The facility will satisfy the long-acknowledged need for a true non-academic gathering spot on the university’s Homewood campus.