Baltimore, MD

The year-long process of updating the master plan for the Hopkins flagship campus included research and observations, workshops with stakeholders, conversations with the nearby Charles Village community, and adherence to a series of planning principles to:

• Restore and project the integrity of the wooded stream valley as a visual, recreational, and educational resource
• Improve the aesthetic character of campus to a level that is consistent with the stature of the institution
• Apply the University's energy and resources to improve the vitality and character east of campus as a college town within Baltimore.

Ayers/Saint/Gross determined there was room to build or renovate more than one million square feet of classroom, laboratory, residential, and support service space while vastly improving the campus character.

The significant task of changing the physical appearance of the grounds was addressed by the generosity and vision of an anonymous donor who urged Hopkins to transform Homewood into the nation's finest urban campus.

Brick pathways and improved landscaping replaced the hodgepodge of asphalt and dirt. Cars and trucks were diverted to remote lots served by shuttle buses and to attractive new parking structures. While daily traffic was removed from the campus core, the redeveloped pedestrian ways were designed to accommodate emergency access, deliveries, and moving in and out of residence halls.

Now, Homewood is more intellectual sanctuary than freeway; the environment is safer and more attractive, which seems to be particularly important to prospective students and their families. Additionally, a college town is being developed in Charles Village.

Completion: 2000
Size: 140 acres

For more on the Johns Hopkins University master plan and Open Space Implementation Project, click here for Creating Intellectual Communities magazine.