Columbus Center
Baltimore, Maryland
This design for the three-acre plaza and landscape associated with the Columbus Center for Marine Research and Exploration in Baltimore amplifies the rich land/water interface of the site. In a bold metaphoric gesture to the notion of ‘voyage’, the pedestrian plaza stretches out from the building in a wide arc. The surface of the pier on which the plaza sits is seemingly peeled back, revealing the intricate ecosystems of the Chesapeake Bay within the abstracted pattern of lowland tributary channels. This interactive water feature is experiential and interpretive, consistent with the mission of the Center: to engage the visitor with the natural processes and ecosystems of the Bay.