Bloomberg Student Center at Johns Hopkins University | BIG | Bjarke Ingels Group

The Bloomberg Student Center at the intersection of North Charles and 33rd Streets serves as a vibrant new gateway to JHU’s historic Homewood campus in Baltimore, and the campus’ first facility solely dedicated to student life and connection beyond the classroom. The project, which reflects years of student input, is a fully integrated lifestyle hub that accommodates vital, non-academic services that surround and support scholarship, including collaboration, dining, socializing, and performing. Located at the nexus of the University and the city, the Center is also envisioned as a gathering place for the neighboring community, who will have access to the food hall and certain event spaces, including a 250-seat black box theater. The dining program features local vendors that reflect the diversity of Baltimore’s culinary scene and the tastes of the Hopkins community, as well as the University’s ongoing strategy to invest in the local economy.

Design Concept

Conceived as a series of cascading, mass-timber framed volumes with 29 cantilevered roofs topped with photovoltaic panels, the Center repositions the campus entry from the main quad, known as “The Beach,” to Charles Street. Inside, a central staircase leads to a sun- drenched “living room” that anchors the heart of the building and is surrounded by spaces tailored to the needs of the Hopkins community. Extensive glazing fills the interior with daylight from all sides and offers views into the ever-changing mosaic of student life within; the timber structure creates a warm and acoustically comfortable environment.

Building Program

• 13 multipurpose spaces, including:
- Large event space with 207-seat capacity, equipped with multiple projectors and projection screens, overhead speakers, lectern, and stackable tables and chairs
- Rehearsal rooms for music, dance or acting with sprung floors, full height mirrors and serrated wall profiles and integrated acoustic drapes to break up flutter echoes
- Rooms for creating, featuring concrete floors that can withstand paint splatter, integrated storage for easels, slop sink for easy clean up, and recycled compressed newsprint wall panels for tacking paper materials

• Black box theater with up to 250-seat capacity, featuring retractable seats that can be reconfigured to suit a variety of seating and staging needs

• Ralph’s Marketplace, a food hall with offerings by 6 local purveyors and a donor-supported art exhibition by artist Jorge Pardo featuring 85 hand blown glass orbs suspended above the dining room. Among the vendors, three were started by alumni of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program in Baltimore, launched by JHU in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies:
- Connie’s Chicken and Waffles, Khari Parker, Cohort 5
- Thread Coffee, Nani Ferreira-Matthews, Cohort 8
- Urban Kitchen (Urban Oyster), Jasmine Norton, Cohort 14

• Mo’s Place Pub and Coffee House, a coffee shop by day and restaurant serving wine and beer by evening

• Creative Media Center, where students have access to a wealth of resources including a computer lab, sound and recording studios, 3D printers, cameras, VR headsets, and more

• Lounges available on all floors, featuring a variety of seating types and configurations and including spaces for student exhibits and art displays; movement; quiet reflection; e-gaming; and recreation