In the history of any city, there are a few pivotal moments that will define the urban landscape for generations to come, for better or for worse. Opened 43 years ago as a symbol of Baltimore’s revitalization, few projects have had more significance in Baltimore’s modern history than Harborplace.
Its impending rebirth has been awaited anxiously by all who care about our city. The new renderings of Harborplace have prompted the full spectrum of reactions, from ubiquitous political cheerleading to pointed design critiques from UDAAP (the Urban Design & Architecture Advisory Panel) and members of the architectural community.
As an architect and urban planner, I know well that disagreement and dialogue often make for a better end product. It is in debating what matters, what we love, and what we hate, that we learn what we collectively value. Frustrations with developers MCB Real Estate, however, are misplaced. P. David Bramble and his team are doing what any for-profit developer would do: ensuring a comfortable pro forma for lenders, proposing a design that maximizes financial returns, and asking for the largest possible amount of public subsidy.
But should developer motivations drive the design of the most prized real estate in our entire city? Our civic heart?
Baltimore City had a tremendous opportunity while Harborplace was under receivership to avoid its future being driven by any single developer. Baltimore City, on behalf of all residents, should have launched an open international design competition as so many vibrant and growing waterfronts across the globe have done — Toronto, Sacramento, Chicago, Hong Kong and Detroit among them.
New York City, in soliciting ideas for the High Line, garnered 720 proposals from 36 countries with ideas ranging from a mile-long lap pool to a giant roller coaster. The Sydney Opera House established a new, international icon for the city with an imageable design carefully selected from 233 entries. For the Vietnam War Memorial in D.C., Maya Lin, a 21-year-old architecture undergrad from Yale, bested over 1,400 blind submissions with a design proposal that revolutionized how we conceive of monuments on our National Mall. South Harbor in Helsinki integrated robust community input into their recent competition, allowing city residents to provide comments and feedback on the submissions at multiple phases of the competition process. The winning design for Coal Harbor in Vancouver maximized waterfront open space while integrating slender mixed-use towers set back a full block from the water and a convention center weaving seamlessly into the 18 acres of waterfront park.
Baltimore’s process would have begun with a city-wide survey. Interested Baltimoreans from all neighborhoods – all of whom can and should be users of our waterfront – could share their hopes and dreams for Harborplace. This information would be provided in the design competition briefing packets for competitors to interpret and incorporate. As part of the competition, a pro forma would need to be produced to prove financial viability. The city would field proposals, and the public would vote and provide comments on their preferences — what truly matters to them as citizens. Teams would be shortlisted and allowed another round of revisions before a final submission. Once again, Baltimore residents would be allowed to vote on their preferred option as a key deciding factor in the winning concept.
With a collective vision identified, the city would then issue this bid to developers, allowing yet another competitive process to determine the right fit and responsible pricing for the city and its taxpayers. It is at this point that a developer like MCB could enter the picture and execute a project that worked for them financially, but also one that would produce a civic outcome to elevate our shared space, inspire others to invest in our city, and make the highest and best use of our city’s most unique and precious asset.
Perhaps it is not too late for Harborplace, and I sincerely hope that we will take this approach in the future. If we aspire to be a world-class city, we should behave and operate like a world-class city. We will all be better for it.
Amber Wendland (awendland@ayerssaintgross.com) is an associate principal at the design firm Ayers Saint Gross.
