The future of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor looks a lot like…beach balls. Or a sea serpent. Or a giant pair of binoculars.
Those were a few of the themes that local designers explored in City Sand ’23, a sand sculpture contest that was held over the weekend and challenged participants to “Reimagine Harborplace.”
Nine teams of architects, landscape architects and contractors braved intermittent showers on Saturday to craft sand sculptures that conveyed their ideas for how to revitalize the Harborplace pavilions at Pratt and Light streets, a mostly-vacant shopping center that’s awaiting redevelopment by its contract purchaser, MCB Real Estate.
The event was a throwback to earlier contests held from 1989 to 2012, when Harborplace was still thriving and members of the Baltimore chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) took over the plaza between the two pavilions once a year to show off their creativity. The popular event, an urban twist on the sand castle contests usually held at the beach, was discontinued when Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation acquired the pavilions in 2012.
MCB Real Estate, which is replacing Ashkenazy after it ran into financial problems, has launched a community engagement process to give the public a chance to suggest ways the 3.2-acre site could be redeveloped. This year it joined with the Baltimore Architecture Foundation and the Baltimore AIA chapter, the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore and others to bring back the City Sand contest with a theme that fit in with its community engagement efforts: “Reimagining Harborplace – The Future of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.”
The company’s managing partner, P. David Bramble, was one of the judges, who rated the entries on detail, creativity, originality, execution of theme, and overall quality of sculpture.
Some of the participants made literal suggestions for what could be built at Harborplace, with sculptures that showed a rearranged shoreline and new piers jutting into the harbor. Other proposals were metaphorical in nature, addressing how the developer should approach the design process rather than proposing exactly what should be built.
The winning sculpture, by BCT Design Group, fell into the metaphorical camp. BCT’s team sculpted three interlocking hands, each grasping the wrist of another to form an unbroken connection.
“Our idea is centered around the Inner Harbor and Harborplace connecting our city both in a geographical and figurative sense,” the team said in a statement about its proposal. It’s an opportunity “to create a sense of community and connectiveness through the various neighborhoods, cultures and demographics of Baltimore. A strong and meaningful place is nothing without the people who inhabit it and we believe Harborplace can be that for us all.”
According to senior BCT principal Bob Gehrman, the sculpture was inspired in part by “The Awakening,” a work of art by J. Seward Johnson that’s part of the National Harbor development along the Potomac River in Prince George’s County. Consisting of five partially-buried pieces of aluminum that are shaped like body parts, Seward’s work gives the impression of a giant embedded in the earth and struggling to free himself.
BCT’s figurative sculpture advocates for unity and cooperation in rebuilding Harborplace, Gehrman said. “This is what we want to see.”
Other members of the winning team were: Rajesh Gulati; Austen Hesler; Amberlyn Kauffman; Niki Kreynus; Nupur Mistry; Skyler Roberts and Alainah Rosencrance. Gehrman said he remembers participating in past City Sand competitions and how much local designers looked forward to the event every year.
“It was a big deal” for the local design community, he said. “What a great idea to bring it back.”
BCT’s entry won both the Golden Shovel award from the judges and the People’s Choice award from the general public. Other entries were from Design Collective; Hord Coplan Macht; Moseley Architects; Ruppert Companies; SM+P Architects; The Verve Partnership; Unknown Studio and Gensler/Mahan Rykiel.
Other judges were Lauren Hill, executive director of AIA Baltimore; Laurie Schwartz, executive director of the Waterfront Partnership; Dan Taylor, managing director of Business and Neighborhood Development with the Baltimore Development Corp.; and this correspondent. Additional sponsors were Southway Builders; Gray & Son; C. L. McCoy Framing Co. Inc.; 84 Lumber and Ecological Restoration and Management.
Throughout the late morning and early afternoon, people strolling along the Inner Harbor promenade stopped and watched as the nine teams created their sculptures. Judging began at 2:30 p.m. and the winner was announced by 4 p.m. The sculptures remained on display until Monday.
Another metaphorical proposal came from Design Collective. Its team sculpted a large pair of binoculars looking out over the water, symbolizing the need for vision in redeveloping Harborplace.
The sculpture recalled the binoculars-shaped entrance that architect Frank Gehry created at his “Binocular Building” for Chiat/Day Advertising in Venice, California, and the late Claes Oldenburg’s giant replicas of everyday items such as a clothespin, a typewriter eraser and a spoon with a cherry. At the Inner Harbor, the binoculars were surrounded by words representing aspirations for Harborplace’s future, such as “Local,” “Green,” “Authentic,” “Baltimore,” and “Charm.”
One question about the redevelopment of Harborplace is whether the existing pavilions will be retained or replaced. The team from Moseley Architects was pro-demolition with its design, suggesting that a “Mega Morphin Trash Wheel” be created to gobble up the two pavilions and clear the way for something new.
“We’ve been thinking it’s time to start over,” said project designer David Plent. “This will take an entire rethink.”
“The only person who can fix it is Mr. Trash Wheel,” said team member Jack Harris, referring to the environmentally-friendly contraption that scoops up trash from the lower Jones Falls so it won’t pollute the harbor. “The harbor is taking back Harborplace.”
But why Mr. Trash Wheel?
Any redevelopment of Harborplace “has to be green, too,” he said.
Hord Coplan Macht created a giant sea serpent snaking around the pavilions. Unknown Studio, Ruppert and SM&P Architects either carved away at or added to the shoreline.
Gensler and Mahan Rykiel sculpted a shell-like creature that could replace the ubiquitous crab as a symbol of Baltimore. The Verve Partnership replaced the pavilions with different-sized balls or globes lined up along the promenade. Team members said they were “Spheres of Influence” that could guide planning efforts with objectives such as “Justice,” “Unity,” “Diversity,” “Equity” and “Inclusion.”
The first community engagement session was held this month at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture. At least three more sessions are planned before the end of the year. Registration information for future sessions is available at ourharborplace.com.
Bramble, accompanied by his three children, said he was impressed by the sand sculptures.
“They all did a really good job,” he said. “I thought this was very valuable.”
A sand sculpture of a sea serpent, created by the team from Hord Coplan Macht for Baltimore’s 2023 City Sand contest on Saturday, June 24, 2023 near the Harborplace pavillions. Photo by Ed Gunts.
A sand sculpture of a sea serpent, created by the team from Hord Coplan Macht for Baltimore’s 2023 City Sand contest on Saturday, June 24, 2023 near the Harborplace pavillions. Photo by Ed Gunts.
A sand sculpture depicting a carved out shoreline, created by the team from Unknown Studio for Baltimore’s 2023 City Sand contest on Saturday, June 24, 2023 near the Harborplace pavillions. Photo by Ed Gunts.
A sand sculpture depicting building out into the water, created by the team from Ruppert Companies for Baltimore’s 2023 City Sand contest on Saturday, June 24, 2023 near the Harborplace pavillions. Photo by Ed Gunts.
A sand sculpture of three interlocking hands, created by the team from BCT Design Group for Baltimore’s 2023 City Sand contest on Saturday, June 24, 2023 near the Harborplace pavillions. Words are written on the spheres, including “Justice,” “Inclusion,” “Equity,” “Community,” “Diversity,” “Art,” and “Unity.” Photo by Ed Gunts.
MCB Real Estate managing partner P. David Bramble judges the 2023 City Sand sculpture contest. Photo by Ed Gunts.
A sand sculpture of binoculars, symbolizing vision, created by the team from Design Collective for Baltimore’s 2023 City Sand contest on Saturday, June 24, 2023 near the Harborplace pavillions. Photo by Ed Gunts.
A sand sculpture of a “Mega Morphin Trash Wheel,” created by the team from Moseley Architects for Baltimore’s 2023 City Sand contest on Saturday, June 24, 2023 near the Harborplace pavillions. Photo by Ed Gunts.
A sand sculpture of a shell with the words “Baltimore: Time for a new shell” written in the sand, created by Gensler/Mahan Rykiel for Baltimore’s 2023 City Sand contest on Saturday, June 24, 2023 near the Harborplace pavillions. Photo by Ed Gunts.
A sand sculpture depicting “Baltimore’s Spheres of Influence,” created by the team from The Verve Partnership for Baltimore’s 2023 City Sand contest on Saturday, June 24, 2023 near the Harborplace pavillions. Words are written on the spheres, including “Justice,” “Inclusion,” “Equity,” “Community,” “Diversity,” “Art,” and “Unity.” Photo by Ed Gunts.