Architecture Forum

It's déjà vu all over again for observers of Baltimore's architectural scene. As Amanda Kolson Hurley's article about the proposed design for 20 E. Preston Street suggests ("The Battle over 20 E. Preston," December 2005), folks interested in local design will once more be subjected to lots of words and very little substance in the argument over what an architect may or may not design. Like previous projects, Tower Hill Development's will no doubt be realized in some form or another, determined by a consensus reflecting resignation rather than conviction. But one thing's for sure: We Baltimoreans will probably learn nothing from the battle.

Our community's continual failure to sustain real discussion concerning architecture and design is, in part, a symptom of what September's Urbanite identified in a different context: the "branding" of ideas ("Branding Baltimore," September 2005). Bad enough in commercial circumstances, the impulse to represent disputes by simple taglines inevitably reduces complex topics to mere sloganeering and partisanship: Once again, it's Preservationists versus Modernists in the Mount Vernon "arena." And, as architect Charles Brickbauer implies (ironically, one hopes), whoever has the best polling numbers wins.

Trying to read between the lines of Hurley's article, one is led to suspect that both sides prefer to confuse the issue, rather than to tackle points headon. For the CHAP [Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation] spokespeople quoted in the article, "contextualism" is like pornography: They know it when they see it. The word "historical" seems to be used as a stylistic code word for the presence of certain masonry details. But the word's real meaning is the evocation of a symbolic gestalt, as if the urban character of Preston Street is entirely dependent on the "aura" of the buildings there. Nobody was quoted in the article concerning the lack of commercial space in the new project, even though the life of this block of Preston Street derives much from its mix of uses. And no one mentioned the soul-sucking presence of the parking lot right across the street. One is led to think that "context" is simply someone's fictional image of the status quo.

On the other hand, architect Peter Fillat cited an old, Craftsman-era argument to support the project: "Contemporary design … identifi es the building with its time." But what determines the iconography of those times? A visit to Fillat's website shows the 20 E. Preston project clad in a gridded metal-and-glass curtain wall, facing both south and west in addition to the north. Hot! (Quite literally—wait 'til July.) But is it "of its time?" Looks rather as though Fillat's design is channeling SOM/Natalie de Blois' Pepsi-Cola building, from the glamorous 1950s. Now, that's history—more than half a century's worth …

Baltimoreans have few sources for educating ourselves about these issues. Perhaps Urbanite would consider including critical essays to complement its reportage. Additional, ongoing news of individual, important architectural projects would be a welcome change from the "yesterday's news" approach of most other architectural coverage here in town. Whatever the outcome at 20 E. Preston Street, such a forum for substantive discussion would better serve all Baltimoreans for whom current and future designs will inevitably affect their urban life.

Jeremy Kargon is a project architect for a local corporate practice. His home in Hampden was featured in the September 2005 issue of Urbanite.

Community Reader

I've been talking about Urbanite with friends and family for more than a year, because I see the value and unique identity in your publication. You have developed a very special presence here. Congratulations on your success!

It is inspiring to see your momentum. It helps us as artists to realize and appreciate the changes around us, to acknowledge diverse points of view and healthy skepticism counterbalancing our most optimistic visions of the near future.

Community is ubiquitous and abstract, and the currents of change flowing through Baltimore in the new millennium are less baffl ing when you help us understand community with local views. The great value in what you all communicate is deeply felt.

Daniel Stuelpnagel is an artist and resident of Canton.

Correction: In the December 2005 issue, a copy-editing error in the article "Tracking Your Past" changed the Russian word "pogrom" to "program." We regret the error.