top of page

Culture in Baltimore surrounds food, sports, and community where people gather to celebrate and to enjoy the city. Set in the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, The Helm is a proposal for a new iconic cultural center and food market that promotes the connectivity of the city to the water front.

The existing area of the Inner Harbor is desolate, and since Covid, has become infested with crime leading to closure of 80% of all commercial programs in the area. When ODA was approached to compete for a new culture hub here, it was clear that the developers involved had a vision to flip the public sphere on its head. Giving back to the community in multiple ways and providing public gather spaces that would promote a healthier environment for locals and visitors alike.

The concept was to create the place for people to see and be seen. A place where athletes and locals would come before and after games, where tourists would flock to, and where people could feel safe and stimulated. The Helm does all of that by flipping the public retail experience upside down. The building itself cantelevers outward in two directions allowing for maximum public space while also maximizing interior space. The ground floor gently touches the earth while two large stairs lift pedestrians to the open second floor for market spaces. The roof contains a large green plaza and space for potential urban farm. The largest give-back to the city is the enormous void that carves through the space allowing for a large amphitheater to pierce the building with LED screens and projected media for gameday parties and cultural events. All of this is wrapped with a simple exoskeleton where we had proposed two different skins, ETFE or wood slats, that would enclose the building while keeping it ephemeral and visibly translucent. All in the hopes to allow maximum connectivity of people to the waterfront.