TITLE: DESIGN PROGRAM - ORIOLE PARK

AUTHOR: CITY OF BALTIMORE

SUBJECT: URBAN DESIGN - ORIOLE PARK

URBAN DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

1) STADIUM MASS
Stadium Mass: To the extent feasible, the stadium should be integrated into the fabric of downtown.
It should not stand alone as a dominant object. The apparent height should be reduced by depressing
the stadium into the ground.

2) STADIUM EDGES
Stadium Edges: The edges of the stadium site should be developed as "urban edges." That is, buildings
with active uses should come up to the street; or, at least, landscaping against a curtain wall should
define the site edge at the street.

On the eastern edge, the B & 0 Warehouse should be preserved, if possible, or active uses in buildings
be planned, if necessary.

In any case, the western, northern and eastern edges should be planned with the pedestrian in mind.

3) COMMUTER RAIL
Commuter Rail: The site should be planned to maintain and enhance the commuter rail systems, both
for baseball games and for commutation.

4)CAMDEN STATION
Camden Station: The Station shall be preserved and restored for an attraction and as a railroad
station, if possible.

The area immediately to the south of the station from the building to Conway Street extended should
not contain major structures but should be developed as a plaza, serving the commuter rail and the
station.

5) PARKING
Parking: A total parking strategy should consider the following:

a) Efficient operation such that traffic is dispersed onto the main access routes as quickly as possible.
b) Discouragement of game-oriented traffic traversing residential neighborhoods.
c) Minimization of conflict between vehicles and pedestrians.
d) A major garage should be considered between I395 and the B & 0 Warehouse south of Conway,
Street extended. This facility should be designed to serve traffic to and from 1-95, thus keeping
vehicles off downtown streets.
e) Any surface parking developed south of the stadium should be limited in size to a size that would
allow efficient unloading after games. After evaluation of an optimum size, it may be that not all the
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land need be acquired now.
f) It is anticipated that the two City-owned blocks north of the stadium will be developed with
underground parking and the two blocks bounded by Howard, Conway, Sharp and Pratt will be used
for the expansion of the Convention Center and will, therefore, not be available for parking.

B&O WAREHOUSE OPPORTUNITIES

URBAN DESIGN OPPORTUNITY

From an urban design standpoint, retaining the warehouse building presents a unique opportunity to
gracefully integrate the proposed baseball stadium into its urban surroundings/context. The retention
of the building, an existing strong urban edge on the east side of the site, allows the melding of the
stadium with the essential grid of downtown fabric (i.e., buildings and streets). Also, the warehouse
building acts as a buffer that helps to soften the impact of the disproportionate scale and potentially
oppressive mass of the baseball stadium to the residential scale of the Otterbein/Inner Harbor West
community on the east. The B & 0 Warehouse and proposed baseball stadium would produce an
effect of unity because of their similar scale.

ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
The large volume (430,000 + sq. ft.) of the warehouse building realistically suggests a combination
of reuses. Among them we offer the following for consideration.

1. Hotel catering to the sports market, especially to visiting teams and the media.
2. Ancillary stadium functions (e.g., maintenance and storage facilities).
3. Restaurants and bars.
4. Sports club (similar to the Hit and Run Club at Memorial Stadium).
5. Retail shops of the outlet type (ala the previously proposed Harbor Exchange).
6. Sports Museum (e.g., Maryland Sports Hall of Fame).
7. Offices (e.g., team and stadium management offices).
8. Stadium circulation (e.g., ramps, escalators).
9. Exhibition space (ala some Festival Hall functions).

It should be noted that two developers have been seriously interested in the warehouse building and
site: Oliver T. Carr/Chessie in the late 1970's and the Harbor Exchange proposal of the mid-1980's.

GSD 7212 Introduction to the Practice of Architecture Design Program - Oriole Park page 2