New architectural projects boast range of styles, from classic to

When it comes to architecture these days, says a Baltimore architect, pretty much anything goes.

It's like America, said David Gleason, principal of David H. Gleason Associates. We see traditional homes in traditional neighborhoods, as well as very modernist buildings like the Maryland Institute College of Art's Brown Center.

Gleason said his firm also has done renovation and reconstruction of old buildings, which leads to interesting projects.

For instance, in the course of restoring an old building, one might put on a very contemporary addition - sort of a point- counterpoint, he said.

Walter Schamu, a principal with Schamu, Machowski, Greco Architects Inc., thinks that nationally there is an architectural shift toward minimalism and sleek contemporary structures.

The Brown Center, which was designed by Charles Brickbauer and Ziger/Snead LLP, is a prime example, he said. The inside is pretty raw with a lot of exposed concrete, cinderblock walls and exposed wiring - it's hardly cozy. This building is very industrial and very high-tech, but it is handled in a very sophisticated way - it's a computer science building and one that reflects a direction that art is increasingly taking.

Gleason thinks that in building the Brown Center, MICA was doing more than just building an architectural conversation piece - it was sending a message that it is in the forefront of academic thought.

But the downside is that this is an object building that you can walk around, Gleason said. But you really can't tell how many stories it has or how big the windows are - and that represents the approach to modernism that is very current.

On the other hand, it sits by itself and is not part of the ensemble of historic buildings that surround it, which also sets it off, he said.

Both Schamu and Gleason point to this style as one that is currently the rage in high-end architectural magazines.

Another example of contemporary minimalism is the new Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture.

It's bright, bold, sleek and painted in colors that evoke African culture, Schamu said. Another example on Fallsway is the new BGE tower that [RTKL Associates] designed. The glass wall is very articulated; the facade is curved and modulated, and there's a certain interest to the facade - it's more than just an egg crate.

Local traditionalism

Despite these examples, Gleason maintains that Baltimore is still a very traditional town.

There's not a lot of adventure in architecture and design here like you would find in Chicago, he said. Chicago is an American city that will spend a lot of money on good design. Los Angeles and New York are really international cities with more money and people from all over the world.

One example of Baltimore's bent for the traditional can be seen in the new University of Maryland School of Law. It's eclectic, it's sort of Gothic Revival, Gleason said. That, and the Brown Center, are two national trends that are being played out in Baltimore.

When it comes to residential development, Baltimoreans remain conservative.

I remember the late architect Robert Lewis, who was a member of the Dead Architects Society, saying that we were in a New Victorian Age, Schamu said. This was about 10 years ago when everything that was being built on Belfast Road had a lot of gables inside of gable dormers and plenty of sloping roofs.

When I look at that residential development, I always wonder, 'What were people thinking?' For the most part it's some sort of contemporary-country-ersatz Colonial, which I really disapprove of, he said. You'll have one brick facade that then, at the corners, turns into vinyl siding.

What's to come

On the horizon? I believe the computer is going to take us into a world where the vertical and horizontal planes are going to be very twisted, Schamu said. There are fabulous buildings that are outside our imagination right now - ones in which the outside will be inside, and the inside will be outside.

Architecture has gone from being a very sedate profession with people laboring over drawing boards to a very high-powered computer age, he said.

For instance, computers give designers three-dimensional views and other aspects that people couldn't comprehend previously.

I'm not sure that's altogether a good thing, Schamu said. It used to be that I could tell a computer-designed structure, which was rigid and boring, but now computers are able to design organic buildings that are much more curvaceous and more exciting.

From Gleason's point of view, Baltimore will continue to take what happens nationally and adapt it for itself.

We take national trends and alter them to fit what is going on here, whether that is politically, socially or economically, Gleason said. We're not Chicago, but we take things from elsewhere and weave them into what will work for us, and that is really one of our strengths.

Copyright 2005 Dolan Media Newswires
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.