The City of Baltimore has launched an international public art and design competition to make three traffic corridors more welcoming.
Design Baltimore: Gateways is the name of the open competition, which challenges participants to propose “bold, innovative and implementable ideas” for transforming three of Baltimore’s primary vehicular gateways into “iconic arrival experiences that celebrate the city’s identity, history, culture, and future.”
The corridors are: Russell Street, Conway Street and President Street. The Baltimore Development Corp. (BDC) is administering the competition on behalf of the city. The deadline for entries is Aug. 23 at 11:59 p.m. Winners will receive a total of $450,000 in prize money.
“I’m calling on all of Baltimore’s artists, architects, engineers, student and creatives to show off their talent and their love of the city through this competition,” Mayor Brandon Scott said in an announcement about the contest. “Especially since these corridors are in areas that residents and visitors visit regularly, including on game days, we want to make sure these designs reflect the beauty and culture of our city and our residents.”
The Gateways initiative represents one of the first international design competitions sponsored for city-owned land since the South Baltimore Gateway Partnership and Baltimore’s Department of Planning organized one to help select a master planner to redesign the Middle Branch shoreline.
Here are some details about the competition that were provided online and during two briefing sessions held this month:
Why a design competition?: “The gateway creates a stronger first impression of Baltimore,” organizers say. “It improves wayfinding, reinforces city identity and makes arrival corridors feel intentional, welcoming and memorable.”
How does this represent Baltimore: “One of the biggest impacts is creating a stronger sense of pride for residents,” the organizers say. “People entering and leaving Baltimore every day should feel like they’re arriving somewhere special. The gateway becomes a symbol of the city’s identity and celebrates what makes Baltimore unique. While incorporating elements inspired by Baltimore’s art, culture, design, history and neighborhoods, this competition helps tell Baltimore’s story.”
The significance of the corridors: I-295/I-95/Russell Street is the southern gateway to the city: “Baltimore’s ceremonial entrance sequence – where sports, waterfront ecology, entertainment and infrastructure collide.” I-395/Conway Street/Howard Street is the western gateway to the Inner Harbor: “A civic arrival corridor connecting Baltimore’s tourism, sports, convention, entertainment and cultural ecosystems.” I-83/President Street is the northern gateway: “A civic heritage corridor reconnecting Baltimore’s historic core, cultural memory and future urban identity.”
Who can enter: The BDC will accept submissions from individuals, collaborative teams, design firms and organizations. They can be based anywhere in the world, and there is no fee to enter. Participants may propose ideas for one corridor or more than one, but each submission must meet the competition’s presentation requirements to be eligible for prize money.
Prize money: Twelve finalists will receive $25,000 each and three Grand Prize winners will be selected from the 12 to receive an additional $50,000 each, bringing the three top awards to $75,000. The idea is that there will be one Grand Prize winner for each of the corridors, and the intention is that those winning entries will be executed. “Award amounts are subject to funding availability and BDC approval,” organizers say.
Evaluation process: After the Aug. 23 deadline, submissions will be evaluated during the month of September. Submissions will be evaluated on three levels: an administrative review to confirm that all submission requirements are met; a technical review of the submissions to determine “viability, site responsiveness and feasibility,” and a review by an “expert jury” that will evaluate the submissions on six weighted criteria: alignment with project vision; creativity and design excellence; site responsiveness; feasibility and implementation; community impact and public experience, and team qualifications and capacity.
Timeline: The 12 finalists will be announced in October. Along with the announcement of the finalists, there will be a public exhibition that will give members of the general public a chance to provide feedback about the ideas submitted. “Public comments gathered during engagement events and exhibition will be considered during the jury evaluation process,” organizers state. “Community voice is integral to the success of the Gateways initiative.” The Grand Prize winners will be announced after the public exhibition but also in October.
In addition to the BDC and the Mayor’s Office, organizations involved in the competition include Visit Baltimore; the Baltimore Orioles; the Baltimore Ravens; the Maryland Stadium Authority; the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore; Create Baltimore; BCT Design Group; the South Baltimore Gateway Partnership; Baltimore’s planning department and Baltimore’s transportation department.
A public site tour for anyone interested in entering the competition has been scheduled for Aug. 4 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
More information is available on the competition’s website: www.designbaltimoregateways.com.
How about fix the pothole laden roads instead?!
Infrastructure.. just fix that – remove pothole streets, stop accepting lowest bids for roads, invest in the city infrastructure and stop with all the half-ass measures. No need for a silly contest, that is basically asking folks to work for you for free to pick and choose their schemes.