PROJECT Bon Secours Community Works

ARCHITECT PI.KL Studio:Pavlina Ilieva, Kuo Pao Lian, Courtney Richeson
GENERAL CONTRACTOR C.L. McCoy Framing Co. Inc
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER Tarantino Engineering Consultants
CIVIL ENGINEER
MECHANICAL ENGINEER Burdette, Koehler, Murphy and Associates, Inc
ELECTRICAL ENGINEER Burdette, Koehler, Murphy and Associates, Inc
PHOTOGRAPHER/RENDERER Steven Norris
 

LOCATION  Baltimore, Maryland, US​

PROJECT COMPLETION DATE  5/1/2023

Existing Context + Program:

This project is born out of a local non-profit’s need for a new administrative home on the second floor of an existing 40+ year-old facility, situated within the community they serve in West Baltimore. The existing second floor’s organization and 7,000 square foot interior included single occupant offices lining the perimeter, connected by a long tunnel-like corridor, inhibiting natural daylight from penetrating further into the building, and preventing views out to their neighborhood. Low ceilings and a lack of visibility further compound the compressed and maze-like condition.

Their new programmatic needs called for a more open and collaborative work environment while also creating distinct homes for their two divisions – Family and Children Services and Bon Secours Community Work Administration. The program consists of offices, open workspaces, and shared amenities such as breakout rooms, conference rooms and lounges.

Solution + Design Intent:

The design process began with locating existing cores to remain, designating a wing for each division of program, and strategically locating the shared lobby as an intermediary between the two. Shared open spaces are located along the original hallway spine to erode the hallway condition, creating a rhythm of open spaces with views to the community and allowing all users access to natural daylight. Increased visibility and a honed-in material pallet provides intuitive wayfinding, where neutral tones serve as a base and pops of yellow indicate more publicly oriented meeting spaces and terracotta tones indicate less public spaces. Floor to ceiling heights were increased where possible, including the opening up of the original attic space to reveal existing trusses, creating volume and airiness in the administrative wing. The configuration of solid and voids result in a project that cannot be described in a singular view but rather a series of vignettes and threshold conditions as one moves between and through volumes.

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