Baltimore, MD (October 24, 2018) – How can design have a positive impact a company’s bottom line? Two Baltimore projects—the Sagamore Spirit Distillery and the 400 East Pratt Street Addition—exemplify how local architects help companies achieve their goals through good design. Both projects received the AIA Baltimore Good Design = Good Business Award, part of the association’s 2018 Excellence in Design Awards. The Good Design=Good Business jury included Amy Bonitz, President and CEO of the Baltimore Arts Realty Corporation; Thibault Manekin, co-founder of Seawall Development; and Nicholas Tomaszewski, AIA, architect at Design Collective.
Photo courtesy Side A Photography
The Sagamore Spirit Distillery, designed by architects Ayers Saint Gross, is one of the Sagamore Development Company’s first completed projects in Port Covington and the face of the Sagamore Spirit brand. Beyond designing a distillery, Ayers Saint Gross transformed a brownfield industrial site into a cultural destination with a layered visitor experience. Architects paid careful attention to the dual role of an active whiskey production facility and a visitor destination, allowing for the delivery of raw materials and shipping of finished product alongside a memorable visitor experience. The jury commended the comprehensive design approach through contemporary references of the brand’s rich agrarian and industrial history. The combination of poetry and purposeful space-planning generates a village environment that invites visitors to learn, connect, and play in addition to the functional necessities of whiskey processing.
Photo courtesy Side A Photography
The 400 East Pratt Street Addition by Fillat+ Architects successfully transformed an underutilized public space with dark retail frontage into a pedestrian-friendly avenue with a bright jewel-box addition that has attracted popular establishments like Shake Shack. The project has become the design catalyst for future development along Pratt Street as developers look to replicate the success of the retail bump-out. The jury made particular note of the thoughtful integration of stormwater management and landscape to define the pedestrian experience and soften the edge from a busy vehicular thoroughfare.
Awards for both projects were presented at the 2018 AIA Baltimore Excellence in Design Awards Celebration at Center Stage on October 19. In addition, the jury named Nature Place, a conservation center located in Reading, PA and designed by GWWO Inc./Architects an honorable mention, citing how the project encourages visitors’ connection with nature and a healthy lifestyle.
View all AIA Baltimore Design Award Winners on the Design Awards webpage
