Vision of a physical Design Center at 10 N. Charles

The following is a vision of a Design Center at the location of the Carey School of Business at 10 North Charles Street after the school will vacate the facility in the first half of 2010.

The D:center at 10 North Charles Street is a facility shared by institutes and studios of the School of Architecture of University of Maryland at College Park, urban studios of the Department of Architecture of Morgan State University and urban studio programs of the Maryland Institute College of Art. The three institutions of higher education use the shared facility to collaborate, team teach and to conduct joint and separate research related to the fields of architecture, design, urban design, planning and art. The academic portion of the facility consists of auditorium space, seminar rooms, design studios, research and administrative offices.

Beyond the academic programs and spaces the facility accommodates a number of professional organizations in the same fileds which concentrate lectures, programs and exhibits in the building. Those organizations include the Baltimore Architecture Foundation with their offices and two public lectures series each year, the Urban Land Institute (ULI) with administrative office space and a number of lectures and presentations, the American Institute of Architects (AIA Baltimore Chapter with various programs and continued education lectures.

The facility is the headquarter of D:center, the Baltimore based nonprofit established to promote design excellence in the region. D:center interacts with all other groups, organizations and institutions in the facility and activates manufacturers in the design field as sponsors . D:center brings to Baltimore programs, lectures and activities related to design which advance awareness of the value of design, add knowledge in all fields of design and provide resources to those who benefit from design capacity and design thinking.
A design center located at the seam between the traditional downtown business district and the Westside, the former retail hub re-emerging as a diverse neighborhood with cultural institutions, offices, retail, housing and various institutions will have an important function in re-energizing this part of downtown Baltimore while strengthening the entire region .