AIA Baltimore Chef Night

This past Tuesday, we came, we tasted, and we had a blast. Although we didn’t place this year many enjoyed our "Blue Crab with a Twist". This appetizing event included a sampling of architect-made culinary creations and a live cooking demonstration by professional chefs, Kevin Miller – Copper Kitchen, Sergio Vitale – Aldo’s, and Zack Mills – True Chesapeake Oyster House. All proceeds from the event were donated multiple charitable funds such as AIA Baltimore and Baltimore Architecture Foundation scholarship programs for students of architecture at Morgan State University and Maryland community colleges and universities. Proceeds also supported Future Architects Resources/Kids in Design programs for underserved middle and high school students to encourage career opportunities in architecture, design, and construction. A great cause and a delectable night.

Thank you to our all our BCT participants Carrie Rushing, Skyler Roberts, Maria Garcia, and our very own AIA Baltimore ‘Emerging Professional Co-Chair & AIA Director’ Jonathan Cartwright.

A special thanks to our host for the night, AIA Baltimore, The Baltimore Architecture Foundation, and B-More Kitchen.

New Talent to the BCT Team

left to right: Maria J. Garcia Environmental Graphic Designer, Ryan Janes Architectural Designer, Adam Chisholm Architectural Designer

This month, BCT Architects welcomes Maria J. Garcia to our Graphics Studio and welcomes back Ryan Janes and Adam Chisholm to our Architecture Studio.

Ryan Janes re-joins our team as Associate. Ryan has combined leadership, planning, and design skills for a wide range of mixed use, retail, hospitality, and residential projects in the US and internationally. Ryan’s unique design style utilizes the latest and greatest architectural software to provide our team with a modern approach to 3D design, planning, and presentation.

Adam Chisholm also re-joins our team as Associate. He has amassed a diverse and respected portfolio of award-winning work and has a great collaborative spirit while coordinating multiple roles. He has worked on mixed use, retail, and residential projects around the world implementing new and sustainable design ideas. His pursuit of the latest architectural software has expanded our firm’s capacity to communicate our ideas and provide impressive, well-coordinated architectural presentations.

Maria J. Garcia joins our team as an Environmental Graphic Designer. Skilled in a wide array of graphic services – brand development, wayfinding, event design, print and digital media – Maria enhances our graphics team’s capacity to deliver a powerful complimentary design service for our commercial, residential, hospitality and office projects. Maria’s design expertise is equally matched in her practical production experience and her passion for great design.

“We are very excited to welcome Maria, Ryan and Adam to our talented team of designers, architects, and planners,” says BCT Chairman and CEO, Bryce Turner. “It is our highest aspiration to continue to attract top talent and deliver award-winning solutions to our clients.”

Model Studio Services

We feel that it is important for your vision to be realized, whether it has been planned and designed by BCT or not. Our highly skilled team of experienced model designers has the remarkable ability to turn a modest plan into a tactile, three dimensional showpiece. While BCT’s in-house industrial-sized laser results in straight lines and precise cuts, it is the handcrafting of our model makers that creates each unique work. From simple foam and board models to minutely detailed, complex, illuminated models with screens playing BCT-produced multimedia videos, we do it all.

Elaborate master plan models allow you to instantly share your idea with the world; the site, all buildings, amenities and scaled entourage are composed with precision. Less elaborate massing models are perfect for diagrammatic purposes while still providing an efficient and effective three-dimensional exhibit.

Physical models have proven to be the best communication tool in leasing, investment and municipality approval efforts. Allow a physical model of your project to assist you in reaching your goals.

Promotions!

SUSANNE KALNAJS RA, NCARB
Associate

BRIAN J. HEARN NCARB, LEED AP
Senior Associate

BCT Architects has promoted Susanne Kalnajs to Associate and Brian J. Hearn to Senior Associate.

Susanne joined BCT in 2016, became a licensed architect in 2018 and has been an asset to both the housing and commercial studios. Involved in both ground-up and renovation projects, she focuses on contextualism and the details involved in seamlessly connecting the building to the surrounding community. Susanne is an active member of the Urban Land Institute and just completed the Partnership Forum’s Mentorship Program. Recent projects include the House of Ruth headquarters in Baltimore, Summit Vista senior housing in Utah, and the adaptive re-use, 2 Hopkins Plaza, in Baltimore’s Central Business District.

Brian, who joined BCT in 2014 and is a licensed architect, brings expertise in retail, hospitality and multifamily, having worked on numerous large-scale international, mixed-use projects. With an exacting attention to detail, Brian specializes in design development and construction documents, often overseeing large teams of consultants. Recent projects include King of Prussia Town Center, The Shops at Ellis Preserve, both in Pennsylvania, The Avenue at White Marsh, White Marsh, Maryland and the ICSC award-winning, Fairfax Corner in Virginia.

Congratulations!

Happy Holidays!

The end of the year brings no greater joy than having the opportunity to express to you appreciation and best wishes for a New Year filled with peace, joy and success!

Designing Experiences for Seniors

Our expertise in the retail and food + beverage industry is an asset to the of our senior communities.

BCT understands that good design has a measurable impact on experiences. Places that are authentic, unique, beautiful, and comfortable, foster the best experiences. With 20+ plus years working in the senior housing arena, (and even more working with Boomers and placemaking) and a comprehensive knowledge of all care requirements, BCT plans and designs memorable multi-generational communities.

Design Trends: The Woonerf

Woonerf (pronounced VONE-erf; and roughly translated as “living streets”) is the Dutch term for a special kind of street (or group of streets) that functions as shared public space — for pedestrians, cyclists, children and, in some cases, slow-moving, cautiously driven cars as well. It is intended to function without traffic lights, stop signs, lane dividers or even sidewalks. Indeed, the whole point is to encourage human interaction, and those who use the space are forced to be aware of both others and the environment around them (i.e. – making eye contact and engaging in person-to-person interactions). People have recognized that many residential streets are unattractive to live on, as well as unsafe for children to play in, because they are designed for little more than motor vehicle access and parking. Along with “complete streets”, urban design is trending towards these types of considerations to make the pedestrian environment more welcoming. In the appropriate location, these are great places for artisans, co-working, retail and food!

Some common design elements include: shared and paved space that is intended for all street users; use of physical barriers, like curves, to maintain slow vehicular speeds; accommodation of landscaping and street furniture. At BCT we see opportunities to study incorporation of programmatic elements like retail, residential dwellings, creative / artisan uses, and public/private open spaces so as to make these types of urban design elements more engaging for both users and visitors alike.

BCT announces new interiors studio director

LAUREN REISER
Studio Director, Interiors
laurenr@bctarchitects.com

BCT, the US-based architecture, planning, design and graphics firm, announces new leadership of their Interior Design Studio. Lauren Reiser, a graduate of Eastern Carolina University and a LEED Accredited Professional with 14 years of experience, joined the firm August 6. BCT’s interior design studio is known for its creativity and focus on the end user’s experience. The studio’s collaborative efforts with architects, both within and outside of BCT, and their clients, create high-quality, custom-tailored interior spaces for living, working and playing.

“We are very excited to have Lauren join the Interiors Studio,” Bob Gehrman, Senior Principal, said. “She brings an extensive portfolio working with corporate, multi-family, senior and assisted living, hospitality, restaurant, and retail clients throughout the Mid-Atlantic. Her experience in workplace design is especially important to our future growth. Lauren will play a leadership role with the goal of expanding the studio and offering greater services to our clients.”

Prior to joining BCT, Lauren served clients throughout the region including COPT, BGE and JLL. She has also had the opportunity to provide design services for Exelon and several Erickson Living communities throughout the US.