The Maryland Institute College of Art’s (MICA’s) Dolphin Design Center is designed as an innovative “Maker Building,” blending architectural prowess with the ethos of the Maker Movement.
The Maker Movement, considered the third industrial revolution, is a driving force behind the center’s design. Open studio/lab spaces encourage hands-on exploration and collaboration, reflecting the movement’s principles of self-directed learning and skill-sharing. The ground-level exhibition hall and flexible gallery spaces host public lectures, student exhibits, and interdisciplinary activities.
Designed by GWWO Architects, the center is strategically located at the edge of Baltimore’s Bolton Hill Historic District, serving as a hub for creativity, invention, collaboration, and entrepreneurship. It features flexible spaces tailored for diverse design and production activities. Transparency plays a pivotal role, with well-placed facade elements showcasing the acts of making both inside and outside the building. The structural system, a legible “kit of parts,” connects the building’s interior and exterior, providing a dynamic environment for current and future generations of artists and designers.
Visible to passersby, the first-floor exhibition hall displays public lectures, student and alumni exhibits, and community entrepreneur sessions. Positioned adjacent to the fabrication lab, it facilitates the transition of large pieces—from prototyping to presentation.
On the upper level, a semi-private, adaptable gallery space hosts critiques for student work from the architectural design, artificial intelligence (AI)/game design, and product design programs housed in the building. This space also accommodates focused lectures, communal meals, and various interdisciplinary activities.
The center pays homage to its historic urban context, maintaining sensitivity to scale, massing, and color of the residential/mixed-use neighborhood it is in, yet brings architectural novelty to its surroundings. The exposed steel framework is not only logical, but also in harmony with its surroundings. The structural bay spacing mirrors the historic townhouse pattern, while the steel detailing and color align with the nearby 1800s Mount Royal Train Shed—which has been converted into an academic building of MICA.
Beyond interior window shades, custom exterior perforated metal sunshades, affixed to external columns, along with the columns themselves, offer crucial afternoon shading for nearby glazing. The green roof handles stormwater needs, and efficient MEP systems contribute to environmental stewardship. Notably, a fixed steel framework wraps the western corner, designed to showcase large-scale civic installation art pieces by established and upcoming artists.
